ENGLISH U1 - CONNECTIONS

Vocabulary:
- Language & communication: meanings, idioms, translations, proverbs,
expressions, fluently, slang, bilingual, accent, synonym, native speaker,
mother tongue, second language, false friends, cognates, discussion,
argument, dialogue, comment on (something).
- Feelings: isolation, sadness, frustration, delight, affection, empathy.
- Phone life: charger, running out of battery, get through, ringtone, on
speakerphone, swipe, cut off, lose signal, tag, predictive text, instant
messaging, offline, emoji, follow, spam, stream.

Grammar (reported speech):

- We use a 'reporting verb' like 'say' or 'tell'.
- We don't need to change the present tense into the past if the information
in direct speech is still true (general facts, etc).
- The modals would, could, should and might don’t change when reporting
because they are already in their base form.

Tense Direct speech Reported speech

Present simple I enjoy swimming He said (that) he enjoyed

swimming

Present continuous I am doing my homework She said (that) she was

doing her homework

Past simple I bought a car She said (that) she had

bought a car

Past continuous I was waiting for him He told me that he had

been waiting for him

Present perfect I have taken a lot of photos He told me that he had

taken a lot of photos

Past perfect > I had gone to that park She said (that) she had
doesn’t change before. gone to that park before.
I have been reading all day. He told me that he had
been reading all day.
 - To report questions > Pers. + asked + pers. + … (ex: ‘’What are you doing?’ >
She asked me what I was doing).
- To report orders > Pers. + told + pers. + (not*) to… (ex: ‘’Go to bed!’’ > He told
the child to go to bed)

Time Expressions with Reported Speech

Now then / at that time

Today yesterday / that day / (day of the week) / the …th of …

Yesterday the day before yesterday / the day before

Last night the night before, (day of the week) night

Last week the week before / the previous week

Tomorrow today / the next day / the following day / (day of the week)

Writing (opinion essay):

- Linkers/connectors: despite this, so, therefore, in addition to this, as well as
this, as a result.
- Commas are used for lists, pauses and parentheses.
- Should have between 120 and 150 words.

Writing guide:

Introduction Background/context, why is it important?

Paragraph 1 1st reason → well-reasoned and argued -> give facts and
examples, present studies (+ expert's opinions), universal truths,
personal experience, data (stadistic studies)

Paragraph 2 2nd reason ↑↑

Conclusion Conclusion -> sum up and highlight the main ideas

Re-state your opinion
 KEY PHRASES

It is generally believed that…

In my opinion, …
I believe that…
I would say that…
In conclusion…
It is clear (to me) that…
From my point of view…
For instance…
I (completely) agree/disagree with…
First and therefore, …
As far I am concerned, ...