Bounce back

1. Do you remember these words?

So, let’s read something you will probably understand easily:
The Second World War was a belligerent period that lasted from 1939 to 1945. Almost all the countries
took part in it. It was Hitler who broke it out by invading Poland. This event shows the violent attitude of
humankind, especially of some people who can be as stubborn as a mule when they want to impose
their ideas. Even though this event was a turning point in history, everything came to an end, and peace
was re-established successfully. What would have happened if the Second World War had not occurred?
We will never know, but the truth is that it did more harm than good, and we should never repeat the
same mistakes.

GLOSSARY:

Belligerent: someone or something ready to fight

Take part in: participate
Break out: start abruptly
As stubborn as a mule: unreasonably unwilling to change

2. Reading
Now, we will read a text which is a little more complex.

Globalisation and social status

The world has always been divided into the rich and the poor. However, there has been clear evidence
that that person’s place gives a person’s welfare in society recently. In other words, since the world is
made up of winners and losers, belonging to the latter would imply being in an uncomfortable place.

Due to globalization, development is happening everywhere, yet, this process is thought to be unfair, and
that it is causing a lot of poverty in emerging countries and rich ones. The worst situation occurs in areas
where they lack the necessary resources to live by and constant war. In that situation, those in power
turn a blind eye and spread a false image to continue enriching themselves. In addition, we are not
always told the truth by the media due to its biased character. Therefore, globalization does not
consistently achieve its goal as we may expect. People whose political and economic interests prevent
them from acting morally will always be people. Nevertheless, once the truth comes to light, we may
take a step forward to change what we consider is not fair.

To achieve a more inclusive society, we usually think about a better salary, housing, and food.
Nonetheless, to positively promote globalization, we should first end up with war, take into account
those in need and reflect upon the wrongdoings of the past not to commit the same mistakes again. Only
then would we be able to live in peace.

3. Vocabulary: Warfare and Conflict

As you have seen in the reading, this topic is fascinating. So let’s see some vocabulary you should know
to speak and write about this issue. First, we will divide the glossary into nouns, verbs, idioms, and
collocations.

GLOSSARY

Nouns
A coup d'état: a revolt against a government.
Offense: an attack against a person or a country.
Spears: long poles with sharp, knife-like tips.
Skirmish: a small battle.
Ambush: a surprise attack.
Curfew: an order for people to stay at home.
Ceasefires: temporary agreements to stop war.

Verbs
To rout: to defeat the enemy.
To withdraw: to retreat/ abandon war.
To marshal: to organise soldiers for war.
To mound: hurt someone.
To challenge: to call someone in a fight.

Idioms
To bear swords into ploughshares: to spend money on humanitarian causes instead of guns.
Before you can say knife: something happens very quickly.
A double-edged sword: when something can be both beneficial and harmful.
To fight fire with fire: when you fight against someone the same way they did.

Collocations
Bloody war: a fierce war where many people die.
To make war against: to initiate a fight against someone.
Major conflict: an important obstacle or complication.
Free fight: a fight without rules.

4. Grammar
In this section, we will study the past simple and continuous, the past perfect simple and continuous,
and used to/would. We will focus on the structure, the use of these verb tenses, and some useful words
and phrases that can help us identify either the simple or the progressive form.

Past simple
Structure:
Some of the main things we have to consider are the difference between regular and irregular verbs and
the auxiliary verb “DID”. We add -ed to regular verbs and the second column if it is irregular. The adverbs
we normally use are “yesterday, ago, last week/month/year”. We also have to take into account some
spelling changes when we add the suffix –ed as the following ones:
. verbs ending with a consonant preceded by a single vowel double their consonant: beg—begged
. verbs ending in e, only add the d: phone—phoned
. -y turns into -i when a consonant precedes it: carry—carried

ND
+ Affirmative→ Subject + -ED/ 2 Column + Complements
“They picked up the parcel after ordering it”
“She went to the chemist’s to buy some pills “

In negatives, it’s necessary to add the auxiliary verb and the verb in infinitive since the past is already in
the auxiliary verb.
Negative → Subject + DIDN’T + Verb in infinitive + Complements
“I didn’t expect the result of the test”

In interrogatives, remember to change the order of the sentence, being the auxiliary verb at the
beginning.
Interrogative � DID + Subject + V + Complements?
“Did you come up with an idea for the project?”

Use:
1. To talk about finished actions in the past.
2. To be less direct, more polite: “Did you want to come to the party?”
Summing up
-ed
Affirmative
2nd column

DID + Verb
Past Simple Negative
infinitive

Interrogative DID+ S+V?

REMEMBER!

The action must be finished to use the past simple. Pay attention to the adverbs and the context!

Past continuous
Structure
The past continuous focuses on the process of an action. We have to use the auxiliary verb “BE” and the
verb in –ing. The adverbs we normally use are “yesterday morning/afternoon/evening, last
week/month/year.
+ Affirmative→Subject + WAS/WERE + V.ING+ Complements
“I was watching a film from 6.00 to 10.00”
“They were doing the gardening yesterday morning“

In negatives it’s necessary to negate the auxiliary verb.

Negative → Subject + WAS/WERE NOT + V.ING+ Complements
“I wasn’t thinking about it until you said it”
“We weren’t attending classes the last week”

In interrogatives, remember to change the order of the sentence, being the auxiliary verb at the
beginning.
Interrogative � WAS/WERE + Subject + V.ING + Complements?
“Were you making lunch at 3.00?”
“Was she working until late?”

Use:
1. To describe an activity in progress in the past
2. To emphasize a repeated action (used with “always” or “forever”: “You were always moaning
about the service”
3. To be more polite: “I was thinking about throwing the party here”

Summing up
 was/were+
Affirmative
V.ING

Past was/were
Negative
Continuous NOT+ V.ING

Interrogativ was/were+
e S+V.ING?
Remember!
The past continuous focuses on the process of action so look for clues that tell you it was something in
progress.

***Past simple vs. past continuous

Sometimes both verbs can be found in the same sentence. When this happens, a long action was
interrupted by another short action. In that case, the long actions go past continuous, whereas the short
ones must be written in past simple. The adverbs we normally use in these sentences are “while” or
“when”. [CLUE: after “when” we write the past simple/ after “while” we write the past continuous.]
“While we were preparing the dinner, my mother came in”
“They were coming to the class when the teacher left”

Past perfect simple

Structure
To form the past perfect tense in statements, we need the auxiliary verb “had” and the main verb must
be a past participle. The adverbs we normally use here are “yet, since, for, already”.

Affirmative → Subject + HAD + Past Participle

“They had worked hard today”

In negative sentences, it is necessary to negate the auxiliary verb, and just like in the statements, we
need the past participle of the main verb.
Negative → Subject + HADN’T + Past participle
“Tom called me because he had noticed a mistake in the paper”

To make questions, it is important to change the order between the subject and the auxiliary verb “had”
and the main verb is again a past participle.
Interrogative → HAD + subject + Past participle?
“Had you had a walk in the park?”

Use:
1. To talk about a past action that occurred before another past action.

Summing up
 Affirmative HAD+
V.participle

Past Perfect HADN'T+

Negative
simple V.participle

HAD+
Interrogative
S+V.participle?

Remember!
The past perfect simple must have a connection with the past simple either in the same sentence or in
the same text. The past time is implied sometimes, so look for that information in the text.

***Past perfect VS. Past simple

In most cases, these two tenses go together in the same sentence. We use the past perfect because we
imply a time in the past before which another action happened. The adverb we normally use is “before”
or “after”: “He had worked out the problem before the teacher said the answer” ; “They came late after
they had been stuck in a traffic jam”

Past perfect continuous

Structure
Like in the past perfect simple, we need the auxiliary verb “had” but this time, we need the past
participle of the verb “to be” (been) and the –ing form of the main verb. The adverbs we normally use
here are the same as in the past perfect simple.

Affirmative � Subject + HAD + BEEN + V. ING

“She had been working on this for a long time before she finished it”

To make negative sentences, we only need to negate the auxiliary verb and the past participle of “to be”
and the –ing form of the main verb.
Negative � Subject + HADN’T + BEEN + V.ING
“When Tom mentioned it we realised we had been talking about the same thing”

Interrogative sentences are made by changing the order between the auxiliary verb and the subject, like
the present perfect simple, we also need the past participle of the verb “to be” and the –ing form of the
main verb.
Interrogative � HAD + Subject + BEEN + V.ING?
“Had he been struggling with the notes before he took the exam?

Use:
1. To focus on the duration of an action before a stated time in the past.

Summing up
 Affirmative HAD+ BEEN+
V.ING

Past Perfect HADN'T+

Negative
Continuous BEEN+ V.ING

HAD+ S+BEEN+
Interrogative
V.ING?

Used to/ would

Used to and would are always followed by the verb in the infinitive. In the negative and interrogative,
we need to add the auxiliary verb “did” in the case of USED TO, followed by USE TO because the past is
already in the auxiliary verb. In the case of would, it is not normally used in the negative or interrogative
with this meaning.

Structure
Affirmative � Subject + USED TO/WOULD + V. infinitive
“They used to work in this factory”
“She would come to this cafeteria every week”

Negative � Subject + DIDN’T use to + V. infinitive

“You didn’t use to come to this part of the city”

Interrogative sentences are made by changing the order between the auxiliary verb and the subject
followed by the infinitive
Interrogative � DID + Subject + USE TO + V. infinitive?
“Did we use to watch this TV series?

Use:
1. We use “used to” to talk about past habits and states that have changed: “I used to take the
bus every morning”/ “I would spend the holidays with my grandparents”
2. We use “would” to talk about habits: “I would go to the cinema every Wednesday in my early
teens” / “I would live in Madrid when I was a child”
3. Sometimes “would” suggests an element of nostalgia: “I would sit down by my grandmother’s
side for her to tell me stories”

Summing up
 USED TO+ V.INF/
Affirmative
WOULD+ V.INF

DIDN'T+ USE TO+

USED TO/WOULD Negative
V.INF

DID+ S+USE TO+

Interrogative
V.INF?

REMEMBER!

If you use the past simple and continuous in the same sentence, remember the short action has to
interrupt the short one.
If you use the past perfect and past simple together, one of the actions must happen before the other.
Would is NOT used with state verbs.

5.Listening
You will hear a person talking about films and fiction. In the first one, the speaker discusses her
preferences regarding films or books to learn about the past. In the second one, the speaker tells us how
a relative taught her about the past.
After listening to the recordings, you will find some questions to test your comprehension skills.

5.1 Listening 1: Films or books about the past?

Transcript:

Are historical films and fiction a good way to learn about the past? In my view, films and novels can be
entertaining, and they can give us a feeling about the period, but that’s all. As far as learning is
concerned, we cannot separate fact from fiction, can we? I’d say that so much is made up that you can’t
tell what’s true and what isn’t. I love films and TV series set up in the past, but I don’t think we can trust
them. Moreover, it’s a way to get people interested in history. Films, especially, make people aware of
life in the past. What we see may be not the exact truth, but it raises awareness and that’s important
nowadays.

On the other hand, historical books tend to be based on research, so that source is most of the time
faithful to reality. Even though people tend to watch the film rather than read the book first, I believe it
may change their view on certain historical films broadcasted. To make a long story short, entertainment
is always granted, but learning about the past can be possible depending on the type of book or film we
read or watch.

5.2 Listening 2: Learning from experience

Transcript:

Once, I had to find out what life was like fifty years ago in my city for a school project, so I decided to talk
to my grandma due to her vast personal experience. When I went to see her, I had already prepared
some questions after a bit of research. When I told her, she was so interested she accepted immediately
to tell me about everything she experienced. I recorded her while she was talking about all the things she
used to do as a kid and all those things children cannot do today on the street. After listening to
everything she narrated, I presented and exposed it in class. It was fascinating to get a real insight into
what my grandma went through. All the class was hooked on my grandma’s stories, and the teacher
loved the documentation behind my project. The most satisfying thing was to give voice to an elderly
person who is not listened to. People nowadays don’t care about the past and find it useless to read
about it. However, through testimonies, the past may become more interesting for young people. Let’s
allow those who experienced the past to speak up!

6. Writing
Nowadays, the essay is widespread, and we use it to describe something based on our opinion. In this
section, we will learn how to write a descriptive essay.

Descriptive essay

It is a kind of writing in which we objectively describe something. We must use the passive voice,
reported speech, and impersonal structures to do that.

Structure

It is necessary to organize our text to give coherence to it. Give a title to it which summarises the topic:

1. Introduction � it introduces the problem and states some solutions that will be developed in the
body

2. Body

� 1st paragraph ---- it describes one idea, develops it, and concludes

� 2nd paragraph ------- it describes one idea, develops it, and concludes

3. Conclusion � you shouldn’t add new information. Try to summarise your points and give your
opinion.

Language

Try to use formal language by avoiding slang, phrasal verbs, idioms, and contractions. Try to use
passives, conditionals, reported speech, and modal verbs instead.

The use of connectors and linking words (nevertheless, in addition, so that, etc.) is also required in this
kind of writings to link words, phrases, and sentences and establish semantic relationships among the
paragraphs.

Useful Expressions

Opening � Many people feel that ...

It is widely believed that ...

Nowadays, it is common to believe that…

Making points� First and foremost, ...

It would be ideal if ...

One thing to consider….

Contrasting points� On the other hand ...

An opposing argument is ...

Concerning…..

Giving opinions� It is difficult to believe that ...

Conclude � To sum up…

 By and large…

In conclusion…

The following mind map summarizes the main points mentioned above:

Title
1st
paragraph

Neutral/for
descriptive
mal
writing
language

Descrip
tive
essay

An example of a descriptive essay:

Sports as an alternative to violence

Introduction

It is generally believed that violent behaviour among students is a common thing nowadays. As a result,
children’s health has become a matter of contention among parents and teachers. Therefore, sports
days at school have been suggested to fight against this issue and promote peace.

1st paragraph

Recent studies have demonstrated that practicing sports has a wide range of health and social welfare
benefits for pupils. Such benefits could lead to better breathing, fewer cardiovascular diseases, building
cooperation, and better communication. Nonetheless, these health problems may be the cause of
aggressive behavior too. Therefore, schools events would provide youngsters with the opportunity to be
active, at least for some days, while they learn how to treat others.

2nd paragraph

Another fact to consider is the advantage of experiencing what belonging to a group means. Team
sports contribute to creating bonds not only between equals but also with the instructor. If the children
realised their role is necessary in the group, they would increase their self-esteem. That way, they would
also learn to respect authority and not go against the law constantly. Hence, they learn discipline and
respect.

Conclusion

To summarise, several are values that children may acquire by practising sports. These school sports
days, in my opinion, would be beneficial in terms of health and social interaction.

7. Speaking
7.1 Pronunciation
Hello guys,

Today, we are going to see something that relates to pronunciation, which is rhythm, pause, and stress.

In a sentence, we distinguish between content words—those words that carry meaning—and function
words—those that don’t provide meaning to the sentence.

Examples of the first ones are nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Examples of function words may be
prepositions, linkers, articles, and pronouns.

Let’s see some examples to mark that difference:

I hate ‘cats

I ‘hate cats

‘I hate cats

As you can see, if I focus on the verb, I’m insisting on my emotions, whereas if I focus on the person, I’m
saying that that person is the one that doesn’t like cats.

The pause is equally important to create rhythm, but we have to consider certain rules. For example, we
make a pause

· at the end of a short sentence

· at the end of a phrase

· at the end of a clause

· after a word when we leave a gap before uttering another word

· after a subordinate clause and after a main clause

· before a conjunction

· before a question tag

· at the end of quotation marks

· at the end of a comma

Remember: sentence stress is necessary to emphasize important information in our speech. Also, a pause
is essential to give meaning and obviously to breathe. Remember that pause is not done everywhere. We
will improve our speaking if we follow these rules.

7.2 Situation
In this section, we will see how to keep a conversation about conflict and how to express disagreement.
First, we will hear two students discussing an issue. This will help us practice the vocabulary related to
the topic of the unit. Then, when you finish this speaking section, you will have a conversation where
you disagree with others.

Transcript:
Rose: Good morning Sara, the teacher told us to do this Project, so I have thought about some ideas.
Sara: Hi Rose! Great! Let’s see them.
Rose: I believe that to talk about warfare, we could use a documentary about the Cold War since it
depicts the violent attitude of some countries.
Sara: Well, I see your point, but I don’t agree with you. I prefer using a documentary about a bloodier
conflict… maybe the Second World War?
Rose: Yes, but that may be too explicit, and it may not appeal to everyone.
Sara: But bear in mind that it has to make people reflect on the consequences of war, so it would be ideal
in that sense.
Rose: Well, that’s true. So you changed my mind, let’s choose that one then.
Sara: Great! Once we have chosen the topic, what have you thought about the presentation?
Rose: I was thinking about a power point presentation summarising the key points of the conflict and
displaying only images. What do you think about it?
Sara: That’s a fantastic idea. I do believe the teacher will like it. Let’s get started then.
Rose: Sure!

REMEMBER!

Pause and sentence stress are key in pronunciation when conveying meaning. Remember the difference
between content and function words and the places where we normally make a pause. That will
improve your speaking.

8. Key ideas
Let’s see a summary of what you have learnt in this unit:

● In this unit, you have found a text about the Second World War. This helps us learn more
complex vocabulary and structure.
● In this unit, we have learnt vocabulary related to warfare and conflict. It is of great importance
to know vocabulary from different fields; otherwise, you would be stuck and wouldn’t
participate in different conversations.
● Grammar is the base for speaking and writing, so mastering it would imply better knowledge
and better performance. This section has helped us understand the narrative tenses and the
different uses of the past.
● In this unit, we have listened to people talking about the past, and we have learned useful
vocabulary related to this topic.
● In this unit, we have learnt to write a descriptive essay which might be useful for us if we have
to describe something.
● This unit has focused on the rhythm and we have also seen a dialogue between two students
arguing about a project. Speaking situations are helpful for conversation, and practicing them
helps us improve our oral skills.

9. Links of interest
Today, we have a lot of resources to study a language. We can use online platforms or mobile apps as a
tool to learn English. You can improve your comprehension skills by listening to the radio online, reading
the news, or watching films. That’s why we have created this section for you to keep on learning English.
This section consists of helpful links to help you with your English.

● Vocabulary and expressions of war https://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-

english-2/exercise-english-4160.php

● Narrative tenses https://test-english.com/grammar-points/b1-b2/narrative-tenses/

● Practice the rhythm https://englishexplorations.check.uni-hamburg.de/pronunciation-
exercises-rhythm/

● In the following video, you will find a video about conflict where you’ll find useful expressions
https://time.com/5402188/how-to-fight-healthy-partner/