Simple

PRESENT__________________
— Permanent situations
— Things which are always true
— Habits or things we do regularly (routines)
— What happens in books, plays and films
— It is often used in news headlines
Examples:
I always wait for her after class
She doesn’t work for McDonald’s anymore.
Do you usually read the newspaper?
Where does Pablo study English?

__________Simple
PAST___________
— Actions in the past that happened one after
another
— An action that interrupted another one
— Completed actions in the past

Examples:
Yesterday, I washed, ironed, and organized my
clothes.
I didn’t have time to call you last night.
Did you use to play jacks when you were a child?
What was your kinder garden teacher’s name?

___________________FUTURE
simple
Future with WILL
— Information about future events
— Opinion about the future
— Predictions based on past evidence
— Promises
— Decision made in the moment of speaking
— Examples:
— I think Sara will win the competition.
— They won’t come on time. They are always late!
— Will you help me with my English homework?
— What will you order for lunch?
 PRESENT continuous /
progressive________
— Things that are happening at the moment of speaking
— Temporary situations
— Situations which are slowly changing
— Annoying habits (usually with always)
— Definite future plans
— People in pictures and photos

Examples:
My sister is always making noises when she eats.
I’m not working tomorrow. I’m too tired!
Are they studying for their test right now?
What are you doing?

______PAST continuous
/progressive_____
— Two actions that were happening at the same time
in the past
— Background information before a main event
— An action that took place in the past and that we
want to emphasize

Examples:
He was playing soccer while I was reading.
I wasn’t paying attention when the accident
happened.
Were you working in your project last night?
What was the thief doing when the police arrived?
 ________________FUTURE
progressive
— Is used to talk about an action that starts before a
given moment in the future but will not have
finished then.
— I will be presenting my project at 11:00 a.m. next
Monday.

PRESENT
Perfect___________________
— Experiences (whether you have or have not done
them)
— An action that started in the past and continues to
the present
— An action in the past that has the result in the
present
Examples:
I have lost my keys!
She has never ridden a bike in her life.
Have you ever eaten snake?
Where have you been all this time?

___________PAST
perfect___________
activity or situation completed before another event or time in the past.
Forms Examples Important information Forms Affirmative Statements Negative Statements
Activities John had arrived at work long Time expressions Subject + had + verb Subject + hadn’t + verb
completed before 8:30. often used with this
before By 9:15, his boss still had not tense include before (participle) + compl. (participle) + compl.
another arrived. (1950), by (May 1),
time in Long She had arrived by noon. It had not arrived by
the past Had his boss arrived by 9:30? by then, by that forms
It was the first time that his time, already, ever, noon.
boss had ever been late. never, still, yet. Contracted I’d arrived You hadn’t arrived.
forms
 ___________FUTURE perfect
continuous
…to show that something started in the past and has continued up until now
James has been teaching at the university since June.
Examples: We have been waiting here for over two hours!
They have been talking for the last hour.
She has been working at that company for three
years.
What have you been doing for the last 30 minutes?

Affirmative Negative
She has been waiting They haven’t been
there for two hours. working hard enough.

Typographical Yes/No Questions

Have you been studying
lately?
Wh-Questions
What have you been
doing this week?

Clues
• Capital letters
• Boldfaced words The Dash (−)
• Italicized words • To give extra information or to introduce an
• Universal symbols (&, %, @, +, -) additional thought (informal writing)
• Punctuation Marks • To show an abrupt change or suspension in the
structure of the sentence
Typographical Signs and Punctuation
• To introduce defining phrases or lists
1.The Dash – 8. The Apostrophe ’
• To separate an independent part of a sentence
2. The Parentheses ( ) 9. The Italics
which follows from the main part or explains it.
3.The Square Brackets [ ] 10.The Slash /
• To show that a speaker paused, was interrupted, or
4.The Colon : 11.The Exclamation Point ! changed what they wanted to say.
5.The Commas , 12.The Question Mark ? • To avoid writing a taboo word in full.
6.The Quotation Marks “” 13.The Semicolon ; • To show compound adjectives modifying a noun
7.The Ellipsis … 14.The Hyphen –
EXAMPLES
You are the friend—the only friend—who offered to
help me.
• But when it comes to weight control, exercise—
though necessary—can take only so far.
• Please call my agent—Jessica Cohen—about hiring
me.
• Turn that—music down! • My sister lives in a three
—floor building.
The Parentheses ( )
• To give extra information such as dates, numbers
and amounts of money
• To add an explanation, extra information, or an
extra thought
• To enclose personal asides or abbreviations
EXAMPLES
• At UCR (Universidad de Costa Rica) students have to
take very long classes sometimes (from 3 to 4 hours
per day).
• Romance and vampires seem to be a (horrible) trend
nowadays.
• Costa Rica (506) 22896902
The Square Brackets [ ]
• To enclose explanatory or missing material
• To indicate when original text has been modified for
clarity
• To indicate corrections when original text was
modified
• To enclose insertions that supply missing letters
EXAMPLES
• [The children] were shouting and running all around
the place.
• “Mr. Smith told [Jeannette] about the new business
he was working on.”
The Colon :
• To introduce a clause or phrase that explains,
illustrates, amplifies, lists or restates previous ideas
• To introduce a list or series
• To introduce a definition
• To separate the number of chapters from the
number of verse in religious scriptures or epic poems
• To separate hours from minutes and minutes from
seconds
• To separate a title from a subtitle
EXAMPLES
In that moment, all the members of the family had the
same thought in their heads: Who will be the heir of
the old man?
• You may be required to bring many items: sleeping
bags, pans, and warm clothing.
• Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
The Commas ,
• To introduce additional information that is not
essential to the meaning of the sentence
• To give explanations
• To present author’s opinions
• To separate three or more words, phrases or clauses
written in a series
• To separate two or more coordinate adjectives that
describe the same noun
EXAMPLES
• To separate contrasted coordinate elements or to
indicate a distinct pause or shift
• To set off all geographical names, items in dates,
addresses, and titles in names
• To shift between the main discourse and a quotation
• Our new house, located in San Isidro de Heredia,
has four rooms and a big garden.
• Schema, everything we know about a certain topic,
is developed by everyday activities.
• In my opinion, people should learn to respect others
instead of judging them.
• We were too tired, so we went to bed early.
• “I see dead people,” the boy said.
The Quotation Marks “”
• To enclose the exact words that were said or written
by someone else
• To emphasize a word or phrase that the writer
believes is untrue, morally wrong or humorous
• To offset a nickname embedded in an actual name
• For titles of short stories
• To enclose translations of foreign or borrowed
terms
EXAMPLES
• “I don’t think I’m like him!” said Harry, more loudly
than he intended.
• Twilight is a “wonderful” book.
• Nat “King” Cole
• Edgar Allan Poe wrote “The Cask of Amontillado”.
The Ellipsis …
• To indicate an intentional omission of a word or
phrase form the original text.
• To indicate a pause in speech or unfinished thought
• To indicate a trailing off into silence (at the end of
the sentence)
EXAMPLES
• I took a deep breath… then I told my mother the
truth. She already knew…
• I just wanted to tell you that… well… never mind.
The Apostrophe
• To mark the omission of one or more letters
• To indicate possession, I didn’t [did not] read for
today’s lesson.
The Italics
• To enclose new, unusual, slang or foreign words
• To refer to a letter, word, number, or expression
• To emphasize something that is important
• To refer to titles of major works, films, TV programs
• To show unfamiliar/specialized words
EXAMPLES
GENERAL USES
Specification
• It is the action of stating or identifying clearly and
definitely an element of the text.
 For example: We will launch the most
revolutionary technological product
• It is the action of stating or identifying clearly and
definitely an element of the text.
 For example:
 We will launch the most revolutionary
technological product
 *Complete meaning
 General idea
 It is the action of stating or identifying clearly and
definitely an element of the text.
For example:
We will launch the most revolutionary technological
product, the Mc1658. Specific information
Clarification
• Last weekend, we had chorriadas for breakfast.
• The word fantastic is her favorite adjective.
• You must clean your room today!
• I have read many books by Jane Austin, but Pride
and Prejudice is my favorite one.
The Slash /
• To replace the hyphen or dash to make clear a
strong joint between words (or)
We can use italics to show
unfamiliar/specialized words
• To quote multiple lines from a poem, play or
headline
“Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers
to-day;/And give us not to think so far away”
The Exclamation Point !
• To finish an interjection or exclamation to indicate
strong feelings or high volume
Surprise! Happy Birthday, Sam!
The Question Mark ?
• Where do you live?
• Have you ever gone to the US?
• It is the action of reducing or eliminating ambiguity
in the text.
For example:
I don’t like Maria  How many “Marias” can a person
know in Costa Rica?
The sentence is complete, but it might be
ambiguous.
Everybody enjoys meeting people like Susan
It is the action of reducing or eliminating ambiguity in
the text.
For example:
I don’t like Maria, the student from my English class.
Everybody enjoys meeting people like Susan, smart
and funny  This clarifies which qualities make Susan
pleasing to meet.
How are specification and clarification different from
each other?
• Web sites abound with information about the
famous writers—Shakespeare and Poe—and gush
over the more newly revealed author John Irving.
– How many famous writers are there?
– Who are the famous writers?
– The function of the dash in this paragraph is…
Clarification
• With the high prices and technical problems
presented by Windows, more and more people try
free software (Linux).
– Make the general specific
– Specification might illustrate or exemplify a
“category” that was previously mentioned.
Specification
Definition
• It is a statement of the meaning of a word.
• You can usually insert the verb “to be” between
the word and its definition.
 For example: The neurons (the impulse-
conducting cells that constitute the brain, spinal
column, and nerves) will be damaged
permanently.
The neurons are (the impulse-conducting cells
that constitute the brain, spinal column, and nerves)
will be damaged permanently.
Explanation
• It refers to a detailed review of a process leading
to a final product/phenomenon, or to the
justification for a particular claim.
• It usually answers the question “why?”
• Steven was a poor professor (he couldn’t convey
his knowledge properly) and a terrible husband
(he always came home drunk after hours).
Comment (or Extra Thought)
• It refers to a judgment call made by the author.
• It is always subjective, showing the writer’s
perspective.
• Michael Jordan—the team’s best player— called
for an emergency meeting.
Addition or Additional Information
• It refers to extra information which is not
absolutely necessary for the message of the
sentence to be understood.
• The author’s opinion is not present.
• Michael Jordan—who was recently elected
marketing director—called for an emergency
meeting.
Quotation/Statement
• It is a claim or statement somebody else has said
literally inserted in the author’s text.
• They are always enclosed with “quotation marks.”
• “The dogs are almost like an extension of the
owner’s egos,” says Orville Walls, a Philadelphia
veterinarian.
Citation
• It is a claim or statement somebody else has
written literally inserted in the author’s text.
• As one child’s sign put it: “We do not need more
toys. We need more time.”
Restatement
• It is saying something that was said before in a
different way (easily).
• “That is,” “in other words,” “or”
• My father is a podiatrist, or foot doctor.
Reference
• It can be a word, number, symbol or superscript
that refers to extra information.
• It moves the attention of the reader to another
part of the text (chart, footnote, photograph).
• Most people in the class agreed or somewhat
agreed in the fact that gender roles differ from
Costa Rica to Englishspeaking countries (see Figure
3).
Irony
• It is a subtle mockery.
• One experiences irony when the opposite of an
expected situation or idea occurs.
• It is not meant to hurt someone.
• My boss said, “interesting job,” but he hated it.
Sarcasm
• It is meant to hurt someone or something.
• Sarcasm is generally intended to express ridicule
or reservation of an expression or idea.
• I’m trying to imagine you with a personality.
I work 40 hours a week to be this poor.
Abbreviation
• It is the shortened or contracted form of a word or
phrase.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HVI) attacks the
individual immune system.
Missing Information
• It refers to extra information or missing letters which
are necessary to understand the message.
[The children] were shouting and running all around
the place.
Foreign Term
• It refers to a word taken from a language other than
the one in which the text is written.
Ms. Dickinson tried to prepare gallo pinto for my
family.
Emphasis
• It denotes the importance of a word or phrase.
You have to carry your medicines everywhere, every
day.
Are there any other functions of typographical clues?
Yes, there are.
Other Possible Functions of Typographical
Clues
• Description (points at the characteristics of
something or someone: The house was sold yesterday
—it was an old and beautiful place.)
• Naming (points at a name: La Nación newspaper,
Science journal)
• Contrast (Link between to opposite ideas: She was
really tired, but she kept working all night) **but,
however, in the other hand, in contrast
• Exemplification (provides a clear/explicit example:
You can take whatever you want to the party: cookies,
chips, soda…)
• Some specific to the text…
Remember
• The specific use of typographical clues (slash, dash,
parentheses, etc.) are also taken into account when
analyzing their function in the sentence.

Modal Auxiliaries
Can Might Shall
— Ability — Possibility — Suggestion- VERY formal
— Permission in the present — Permission in the present- — Offer-VERY formal
— Request-informal Formal Should
— Offer-informal — Offer-Formal — Advice
— Obligation (weaker than
Could (pasado del can) Must
must)
— Ability in the past — Necessity/Obligation
— Strong deduction/assumption
Will
— Permission in the past
— Request – les formal tan
— Request-Formal — Strong advice
would
— Offer-Formal Must not / may not — Prediction, assumption
— Possibility — Prohibition — Promise
May Don’t need to — Spontaneous decision
— Possibility — Not necessary — Habits
— Permission in the present- Ought to
— Advice Would (pasado de Will)
Formal
— Obligation (les strong tan — Request / wish - formal
— Offer-Formal
must) — Habits in the past
— Offers-formal

Word Formation
Morphological Analysis
Analysis and classification of individual words out of Possessive nouns: the girl’s car
context Comparative and superlative form: the book is better
than the movie. This is the best book.
Syntactical analysis Past and participial form: played, worked, stayed,
Analysis of words as they relate to each other in the eaten.
context. Third person inflection: plays, works, stays, eats
Identifying thus the sopecific word function of a lexical
item or phrase. DERIVATIONAL SUFFIXES
— These usually give the word a new meaning.
Morpheme Treat (verb) – treatment (noun)
— They may change the part of speech (noun,
adjective, verb, etc.)

Affix Root Private (adjective) – privatize (verb)

Accident (noun) – accidental (adjective)

Essential or PREFIXES
Prefix Suffix main meaning — They are attached to the beginning of a word.
of words — They do not change the core meaning nor the
category of the word.
— Examples:
Bound and free Morphemes Anti- ◼ Antidepressant
Which of the following morphemes are bound? De- ◼ Deactivate
Which ones are free? Non- ◼ Nonstop
Act*ive*ly
Re*elect*ion COMPOUND WORDS
Four or more
Two nouns Three nouns
AFFIXES nouns

Inflectional affixes Cardboard

Screenwriter-
director
Music school
student hall
entrance
Do not change the word class but change Music school
aspects related to person, number, gender, toothbrush Computer terminal
software
student hall
tense, aspect or mode. entrance door

Derivational affixes
One word is formed (deried) from another.
Meaning or class can change.
EXAMPLES BY WORD CLASS

MORPHOLOGY

INFLECTIONAL SUFFIXES
Plural form: girls, boys, books Cognates
Is a word that exists in two different languagues and
have the same root.
False Cognates
However, some words in English look very similar to
words in Spanish but a have very different meanings
Large  largo vs. Grande
SCANNING
- It rapidly covers a great deal of material in order
to locate a specific fact or piece of information.
- It is very useful for finding a specific name, date,
stadistic, or fact without reading the entire article.
Parts of Speech
Traditional grammar classifies words based on eight
parts of speech: the verb, the noun, the pronoun, the
adjective, the adverb, the preposition, the
conjunction, and the interjection [+ article]
Each part of speech explains not what the word is, but
how the word is used. In fact, the same word can be a
noun in one sentence and a verb or adjective in the
next.
Nouns
A noun is a Word that denotes a person, place or
thing. In a sentence, nouns answer the questions who
and what.
Example: The dog ran after the ball.
A noun may be concrete (something you can touch,
see, etc.), or a noun may be abstract, as in the
sentences below.
Example 1: She possesses integrity.
Example 2: He was searching for love.
— Nouns may also be proper (She visited Chicago
every year), and they should be capitalized.
— They can be countable (books, monkeys, figures,
etc) or uncountable (rice, sand, love, etc.).
- In most cases, you know what you’re looking for,
so you’re concentrating on finding a particular
answer.
- Keep in mind at all times what it is you are
searching for. If you hold the image of the word or
idea clearly in mind, it is likely to appear more
clearly than the surrounding words.
- Anticipate in what form the information is likely to
appear--numbers, proper nouns, etc.
- Analyze the organization of the content before
starting to scan: If the material is lengthy or
difficult, a preliminary skimming may be necessary
to determine which part of the article to scan.
- Let your eyes run rapidly over several lines of print
at a time.
- When you find the sentence that has the
information you seek, read the entire sentence
— They can be singular (house, car, dog) or plural
(houses, cars, dogs).
— Whatever exists, we assume, can be named, and
that name is a noun.
Pronoun
A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun in a
sentence.
Demonstrativ Personal
Relative
e
Reciprocal Indefinite
Personal Pronouns
• Subject Pronouns: I have waited all day. Which Whoever Whose
• Object Pronouns: Don’t talk to me in that way.
• Possessive Pronouns: That book is hers. Whicheve That What
• Reflexive Pronouns: The boy prepared dinner all r
by himself. It is a book that is difficult to ignore.
The dog, which is a terrier, is black.
Demonstrative Pronouns
They point out specific persons, animals, places, things Interjections
or ideas. They are words or phrases used to exclaim, protest or
command. They sometimes stand by themselves, but
they are often contained within larger structures.
Examples:
Wow! I won the lottery!
Oh, I don’t know about that.
Phew! I am not trying that again.

Adjectives
Indefinite Pronouns An adjective is a word that modifies, or describes, a
Indefinite pronouns do not refer to any particular noun or pronoun. Adjectives may precede nouns, or
persons, places or things. They replace nouns without they may appear after a form of the reflexive verb to
specifying which noun they replace. be (am, are, is, was, etc.).
another, anybody, anyone, each,
either, everybody, everyone, Example 1: We live in the red brick house.
everything, little, much, neither,
Singular nobody, no one, nothing, one, other, In this example, two consecutive adjectives, red and
somebody, someone, something brick, both describe the noun house.
Everybody is ready for the party Example 2: She is tall for her age.
Plural Both, few, many, others, several Here, the adjective tall appears after the reflexive verb
Few were late for the meeting. is and describes the subject, she.
Singular all, any, more, most, none, some Verbs
or There are many books here; some are The verb is perhaps the most important part of a
plural very interesting. sentence. A verb or compound verb asserts something
about the subject of the sentence and expresses
Reciprocal Pronouns actions, events, or states of being (to be, to feel, etc.).
Show a mutual relationship. • Dracula bites his victims on the neck.
Each other John and Bob respect each • In early October, Giselle will plant some trees.
other. • My first teacher was Miss Crawford, but I
One another We are commanded to love one remember the janitor Mr. Weatherbee more
another vividly.
Relative Pronouns
• Relative Pronouns begin subordinate clauses and
connect that clause to another noun that precedes
Adverbs
Adverbs can modify:
it in the sentence.
A verb (He drove slowly).
• They don’t change the form with gender, person,
An adjective (He drove a very fast car)
or number. The only one that changes is who:
Another adverb (She moved quite slowly down the
o Subjective: The girl who told me the story lives
aisle).
there.
o Objective: The girl whom I chose will get a
Types of Adverbs
present.
• Adverb of time: An adverb of time tells us when
o Possessive: I am not sure whose that is.
something is done or happens (His factory was
Whatever Who Whom burned down a few months ago).
• Adverb of place: An adverb of place tells us where
something is done or happens. We use it after the
verb, object or at the end of a sentence (We can
stop here for lunch.)
• Adverb of manner: An adverb of manner tells us
how something is done or happens. Most adverbs
of manner end in –ly such as badly, happily, sadly,
slowly, quickly, and others that include well, hard,
fast, etc. (The brothers were badly injured in the Prepositions
fight). • A preposition links nouns, pronouns and phrases
• Adverb of degree: An adverb of degree tells us to other words in a sentence. The word or phrase
the level or extent that something is done or that the preposition introduces is called the object
happens. Words of adverb of degree are almost, of the preposition.
much, nearly, quite, really, so, too, very, etc. (It • A preposition usually indicates the temporal,
was too dark for us to find our way out of the spatial or logical relationship of its object to the
cave). rest of the sentence as in the following examples:
• Adverb of frequency: An adverb of frequency tells o The book is on the table.
us how often something is done or happens (He o She read the book during class.
hardly ever says something nice to his wife.)

Conjunctions
A conjunction is a joiner; a word that connects
(conjoins) parts of a sentence.

Referents and Expletives

• We sometimes hear English speakers using words
like "it, there, they, him" and others which we
need to stop and ask ourselves: What does it
mean?
• For example: What does it refer to in these
sentences?
o I have a dog. It's lovely and playful.
o It's important to take care of your pets.
• Expletives are words that perform a syntactic role
but contribute nothing to meaning. This means
that an expletive has a grammatical function but
does not have a semantic content.
o “There are many vegan people at U.C.R.”
o It’s interesting to go talk to her.

•
Antecedents or Referents
When a pronoun replaces a word (or a group of
Expletives vs. Referents: It
words), the word being replaced is called an
antecedent or referent.
Referent Expletive
o I wrote a letter to the president, who responded Impersonal sentences that
Refers to a noun
require a subject at the
quickly. already mentioned beginning
o The students spent all afternoon working on their
reports. They were really tired at the end of the I saw a shooting star
It is raining.
day. It moved fast.

Expletives
 Expletives vs. Referents: There
Referent Expletive
Designates the
It designates a place existence of a subject

I saw her waiting There are a lot of

there. students in the class.

Word Function
 When the magician thrust his sword into the box,
Adverbials Nominals the audience nervously gasped throughout the
theater.
Adjectivals Verbals  Throughout the theater, the audience gasped
nervously when the magician thrust his sword into

Adverbials the box.

An adverbial is a Word or a group of words that Adverbs

modifies the verb in a sentence.
It can also modify a whole sentence, an adjective, or
and adverb.
Adverbs
Prepositional Phrases
Nouns and Noun Phrases
Verb Phrases
Subordinate Clauses
The audience gasped nervously throughout the
theater when the magician thrust his sword into the
box.
How Nervously

Where Throughout the theater

When When the magician thrust his sword into the

box.

Adverbials Movability (siguen teniendo

sentido)
 - Mom cashes a check to give Jody her allowance.
- I went home early to relax before the party.
- She took two part-time jobs to earn money for
camp.

Adverbs: Examples
- They talked quietly.  Manner
- Nowadays I seldom win.  Time/Frequency
- I am going there now.  Place/Time
Prepositional Phrases
 It is the most common structure of modification.
 It mostly appears as modifiers of nouns (as
adjectivals) and verbs (as adverbials ).
 Sentences often have more than one adverbial
prepositional phrase.
 They can occupy several positions (time is often
more movable than place)
- She was bored during the Christmas break.
- The couple was walking along the shore.
- We’ll do it without your cooperation.
- According to the weather report, it’ll rain today.
- You’ll find the place outside the office building.
Subordinate Clauses
 A clause is a group of words with a subject and a
predicate.
 A subordinate clause is introduced by
subordinating conjunctions.
 The most common subordinators that introduce
adverbials are after, because, before,
since, so, until, when and while.
- The audience gasped nervously throughout the
theater when the magician thrust his sword into
the box.
- Which one is the subordinate clause that works as
an adverbial in the sentence?
o When the magician thrust his sword into the
box.
- Since I am not using my computer now, you can
borrow it to type up you term paper.
- Whenever I use my computer, something seems to
go wrong.
- Put these DVDs where I put mine.
- Young people take risks as if they were immune to
accidents.

Nouns and Phrases

Nouns and phrases that function adverbially form a
Adjectivals
fairly short list designating:
o Time: I’m leaving Monday morning.
Pre-noun Post-noun
o Place: We walked home. modifiers modifiers
o Manner: I sent the package airmail.
o Quantity: He studied two hours. Prepositional Phrases
Nouns
Verbs Phrases Participial Phrases
 The most common form of the verb in an
adverbial role is the infinitive (to + verb).
Adjectives
Relative Clauses
 They are not simply verbs with to; they are entire
verb phrases, complete with complements and
modifiers.
 The subject of the sentences are also the subjects
of the infinitives.
 In order to underlies almost all adverbial Adjectives
infinitives.
(Infinitivos o gerundios)
Adjectives are words that are used to describe (what
kind of?) nouns and pronouns and to quantify (how
much of?) and identify (which one?) them.
In a nutshell, Adjectives are what define nouns and
give them characteristics to differentiate them from
other nouns.
1. Adjectives of Quality: Nature of a noun (what
kind?): Honest, Kind, Large, Bulky, Beautiful, Ugly
etc.
2. Adjectives of Quantity: The amount or the
approximate amount of the noun or pronoun: All,
Half, Many, Few, Little, No, Enough, Great etc.
3. Adjectives of Number: The number of nouns and
their place in an order. Definite Numeral Adjective
- Those which clearly denote an exact number of
nouns or the order of the noun.
a. Cardinals: One, Two, Twenty, Thirty-Three
etc.
b. Ordinals: First, Second, Third, Seventh etc.
c. Indefinite Numeral Adjective (general idea
of the amount): Some, Many, Few, Any,
Several, All etc.
Adjectives and Nouns
Prepositional phrases
 It is identical to the adverbial prepositional phrase.
 In the adjectival role the prepositional phrase
identifies the noun headword in relation to time,
place, direction, purpose, origin, and the like.
 It helps to indentify a noun or pronoun by
answering the questions “which one?”, or “what
kind?”
(Caracterizan un sustantivo)
- The house on the corner is new.
- The security guard in our building knows
everybody.
- I have always admired the lovely homes along
Sparks Street.
- The meeting during our lunch hours was a waste
of time.
- Jack is a man of many talents.
Relative Clauses
It identifies the noun or pronoun it modifies– an
almost always appears immediately after that noun or
pronoun:
 The arrow that has left the bow never returns.
 Relatives are persons who live too near and visit
too often.
Remember: You have to ask “Which one?” or “What
kind of”
 A relative clause has a subject and a predicate.
 (who,
They must include a relative pronoun
whose, whom, which, or that) just
after the noun.
 The relative clause (also called the adjectival
clause) is a dependent clause.
- The clerk at the post office, to whom I complained
about our mail service, was very patient with me.
- The student whose notes I borrowed was absent
today.
- You can choose a color that you like.
- I don’t understand the reason why Margo is mad.
Participial Phrases
-ing Participial Phrases
-ed/-ing Participial Phrases
- The man living across the street is really strange.
- The students taking the exam look nervous.
- The barking dog across the street drives us crazy.
- The houses designed by Frank Lloyd are national
treasures.
- The amazing orchestra was playing wonderfully
tonight.
- The surprised faces of the spectators provoked
panic.
Nominals
These are the different positions that can be taken by
a nominal:
- Subject: My best buddy lives in Iowa.
- Direct Object: I visited my best buddy last
Christmas.
- Indirect Object: I sent my best buddy a card for his
birthday.
- Subject Complement: I consider Rich my best
buddy.
- Object of a preposition: The town has a lot of
respect for my best buddy. INFINITIVES: Like the gerund, the nominal infinitive
- names an action or behavior or state of being.
Infinitives and gerunds might be an alternative to each
Adjectives
other.
Examples:
 To be a successful farmer these days requires
stamina and perseverance.
Appositives Gerunds  My cousin wants to be a successful farmer.
Types of  My cousin ambition, to be a successful farmer,
nominals requires stamina and perseverance.

NOMINAL CLAUSES: They are also dependent clauses

Clauses Infinitives
ADJECTIVES: Some words are adjectives by nature, but
by adding the article the they become nominals.
These words cannot be pluralized.
Examples:
— The poor are many.
— The intelligent are not arrogant.
— She has an eye for the rich.
APPOSITIVES: It is a nominal companion, a structure
that adds information to a sentence by remaining
another nominal.
It is sometimes called “a noun in apposition.”
Examples:
— My best buddy, Rich, lives in Iowa.
— The prosecutor cross-examined the next witness,
the victim’s husband.
GERUNDS: Gerunds name actions or behaviors or
states of mind or states of being.
Because they are verbs in form, gerunds will also
include all the complements and modifiers that tensed
verbs include.
A gerund working as a nominal can be substituted by
It.
(just as the adverbial and adjectival clauses).
Introductory words that signal nominal clauses are the
expletive that and interrogative words (why, what,
etc.)
They can be substituted by someone (1 persona) or
something (1 cosa).
- I understand that several students have launched
a protest.
- I wonder what prompted their action.
- Your assumption is that interest rates will remain
relatively low.
- The reviewer’s criticism, that the characters lack
conviction, is fully justified.
Verbals
 These are the ones that indicate the action of the
statement.
 The either refer to the past, the present or the
future (and combinations in specific statements
provided other varied uses, for example,
conditionals).
 They relate the statement to a particular use and
provide further contextualization (habits,
conditions, completed actions, plans, predictions,
etc.)
- I always go to the park.
- She never bought what she needed.
- If he were a teacher, he would buy more books.
- She had graduated by the time she turned 22.
- They will continue to study harder.
- We are going to buy 3 more books.
What’s their part of speech?
Facebook users who click on the “like” button for a
product may trigger the appearance of an ad for that
product on the pages of their “friends”.
Facebook: noun
Who: pronoun (relative)
May: verb
Appearance: noun
Pages: noun
What’s their function?
Facebook users who click on the “like” button for a
product may trigger the appearance of an ad for that
product on the pages of their “friends”.
- Facebook: Adjectival (porque habla de los usuarios
de facebook y los esta categorizando)
- USERS: nominal (porque es de quien se habla)
- who click on the “like” button for a product:
Adjectival (no son todos los usuarios de Facebook,
solo los que dan click…)
- may trigger: verbal (acción principal de la oración)
- the appearance of an ad: Nominal (es como objeto
directo)
- for that product: Adjectival (porque es ese
específicamente)
- on the pages of their “friends: Adverbial (porque
responde a ¿en dónde?)
The More You Know: Even in Disney Princess
Movies, Men Get the Bulk of the Dialogue
BY DIANA PEARL
1
In Hollywood, gender equality may seem like a
fairytale. But actual fairytales are pretty far off from
achieving it, too. Disney’s classic 2 “princess” films
are packed with female protagonists and targeted – for
the most part – toward little girls. But, as it turns out,
it’s men who get the majority of 3 the screen time.
According to research by linguists Carmen Fought and
Karen Eisenhauer, in nearly every Disney film, the
male characters speak a far greater percentage of the
dialogue than the female characters 4 do.
The problem is especially bad in the “second wave”
Disney princess films of the ’80s and ’90s, like The
Little
Mermaid, Aladdin and Pocahontas. The 5 ironic thing
is that the first-ever Disney princess film, Snow White
6
and the Seven Dwarfs (released way back in
1938), was actually pretty progressive when it came to
splitting the dialogue equally between the genders at
about a 50-50 ratio.
The good news 7 stops there, however. The next
film, 8 Cinderella, dwindled down to a 9 60-40 male-
to-female dialogue ratio. And then with Sleeping
Beauty, men 10 snagged 71 percent of the speaking
time.
Fought, a professor at Pitzer College, says that
discrepancy can be explained by the lack of female
characters aside from the “princess” in these
films. 11 As we all know, there is not an abundance of
mothers in Disney movies, but as it turns out, there
aren’t a whole lot of female 12 sidekicks, female
advice-givers or female foil characters either. There’s
just the “princesses” – and the occasional villain.
“There’s one isolated princess 13 trying to get someone
to marry her, but there are no women doing any other
things,” Fought tells The Washington Post. “There are
no women leading the townspeople to go against the
Beast, no women bonding 14 in the tavern together
singing drinking songs, women giving each other
directions or women inventing things. Everybody
who’s doing anything else, other than finding a
husband in the movie, pretty much, is a male.”
Eisenhauer, a 15 graduate student at North Carolina
State, chocks the lack of female dialogue up to the
male standard in society.
“My best guess is that it’s 16 carelessness, because
we’re so trained to think that male is the norm,”
Eisenhauer said. “So 17 when you want to add a
shopkeeper, that shopkeeper is a man. Or you add a
guard, that guard is a man. I think that’s just really
ingrained in our culture.”

The study did reveal 18 some positive trends in Disney

princess films. In the more recent releases, like The
Princess and the Frog, Tangled, Brave and, of
course, Frozen, women were twice as likely to receive
a compliment based on their skills or achievements,
rather than their looks. To boot, all of these films
except for one (Frozen) have a more even balance of
dialogue – in Brave, they even 19 grabbed the majority,
with 74 percent of the lines being said by women.
20
Keep it up, Disney, and maybe, just maybe, you’ll
pass the Bechdel test before too long.

Word or Phrase ADV ADJ V N

1. In Hollywood
X
2. “princess” X
3. the screen time X
4. do X
5. ironic X
6. way back in 1938 X
7. stops X
8. Cinderella X
9. 60-40 male-to-female dialogue X
10. snagged X
11. As we all know X
12. sidekicks X
13. trying to get someone X
to marry her
14. in the tavern X
15. graduate X
16. carelessness X
17. when you want to add a
X
shopkeeper
18. some positive trends in Disney
X
princess films
19. grabbed X
20. Keep
X
 TOPIC, Topic Sentence and Main Idea
Look at the following picture
What is the topic of a paragraph?
The sentence you have written states the main
idea -or main point- the photograph conveys. It
expresses your view of what is happening.
Identifying a Text’s Topic
 A paragraph, or longer text, has a single main
topic, and all the details relate to that topic.
 The topic of a text is almost always mentioned
at the beginning of a passage.
 To make sense of paragraphs, particularly
difficult ones, you need to determine the topic, or
de subject of discussion.
A Text’s Topic: Strategies
 The topic is the person, place, idea, object, or
event the author wants to explore with
readers.
 Look for the word or phrase most frequently
repeated or referred to throughout the paragraph.
 Identify the topic of the paragraph by using the
pronouns that refer back to it.
Topic of a paragraph
 The topic of a paragraph answers the
question “Who or what is the selection
about?”
 It can’t be too broad nor too narrow.
 It is a word or phrase which tells you what the
text is about.
Mother sister aunt brother father
Topic: the family
What is the topic of this paragraph?
Charles Lindbergh's strong and independent
character shaped every event in his altogether
spectacular life. In 1927, when he decided to fly
nonstop over the Atlantic, everyone said it was
impossible. But Lindbergh didn’t listen. He flew
anyway, becoming an international hero. In 1933,
when the public demanded that he return a medal
given to him by the Nazis, Lindbergh refused […]
Lindbergh’s independent character or spirit
MAIN IDEA
Once you know the subject under discussion, you
need to ask, What does the author say about the
topic?
 The main idea is the central message or point
of the paragraph.
 It’s the author statement about the topic.
Topic: Cats Topic: The West Beach
M. Idea: Cats are M. Idea: Summer is a
usually very clean wonderful time at West Beach
Congratulations! You have been offered a job.
The time has come to negotiate your salary. The
question to ask yourself is: "How much am I
worth?" Your answer will likely affect the outcome
of your salary negotiation. The point is, in order to
negotiate the best possible salary, you must
convince both yourself and the employer of the
value that you will bring to the job.
Topic: how much you are worth
Main idea: The question to ask yourself is: "How
much am I worth?"
TOPIC SENTENCE
Topic Sentences and Main Ideas
 Topic sentences are general sentences that
broadly state the point of the paragraph.
 The topic sentence is a single sentence that
states the author’s main idea.
 It is general enough to include all the ideas in
the paragraph.
 It answers the question Do all the specific
details in the paragraph support this statement?
BE CAREFUL!
 Introductory sentences provide background
about the topic sentence but are not further SUPPORTING DETAILS
developed in the paragraph.
 As you would expect, the introductory
sentences cannot effectively sum up the
paragraph.
 As you would expect, the introductory
sentences cannot effectively sum up the
paragraph.
 To test whether a sentence is the topic
sentence, turn it into a question. If the remaining
sentences answer the question, you’ve found the
topic sentence.
 Topic sentences can be any sentence of a
paragraph, but they tend to be at the beginning of
the paragraph.  The main idea can be implied,
suggested, or it may appear at the end of the
 A paragraph contains facts, statements, and
paragraph. examples which guide us to a full understanding
 Paragraphs that start with a question, use this of the main idea.
question’s answer as the topic sentence.  They clarify, illuminate, explain, describe,
expand and illustrate the topic sentence or main
idea.

Determining Supporting Details

1. Decide which details help to further the story
line.
2. Decide which details help you understand the
main idea.
3. Answer questions raised by the main idea
(who, what, when, why or how).

Types of Supporting Material

1. Comparisons
2. Contrasts
3. Statistics
4. Graphs
5. Descriptions
 Rhetorical Patterns
 They are mechanisms that help to build the SPACE ORDER / LOCATION /
larger system of a text. (Un párrafo se diseña con
el propósito de… describer un lugar, receta, SPATIAL ORDER
comparar, explicar, contrastar). A person, place or thing is described based on its
 They are just like typographical clues and location or how it is arranged in space.
other linguistic elements, but they use those
elements in a more intricate way. SIGNAL WORDS: prepositions of place or
 Understanding rhetorical patterns means a movement, phrases such at the bottom, at the
closer analysis of what the writer or speaker is end, etc.
trying to communicate.
 They refer to how authors organize She pulled the door wide. The Entrance Hall was
information and thoughts. so big you could have fitted the whole of the
Dursleys’ house in it. The stone walls were lit with
Why are they useful? flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the
 Arrange details and information. ceiling was too high to make out, and a
 Separate supporting points from main ideas.
magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the
 Recognize what the author deems important.
upper floors.
 Points at information and its organization.
 Graps the main idea (overall structure
understanding) LISTING / SERIES /
ADDITION / ENUMERATION
Time order Location Listing Classification The information is listed by items, facts, reasons,
Definition Exemplification Comparison / Cause and examples, features or characteristics.
contrast effect
Process Problem-
Hypothesis analysis solution Purpose SIGNAL WORDS: and, too, in addition, moreover,
Description Narration Argument
Mixed on, also, furthermore, as well as, plus, moreover,
patterns
besides, etc.

TIME ORDER (T/O) CLASIFICATION

- Chronological order
- The process of a limited action through time
- Events
SIGNAL WORDS: prepositions of time, cue a
words such as first, third, …; next, then; finally;
eventually; following, this, after, as, before,
currently, during, eventually, last, later, previously,
immediately, when, until.
Many of the racial and ethnic groups that live the
Hawaiian Islands today arrived at different times in
history. Most of them came to work as laborers on the
sugar pineapple plantations. The first group arrived in
the 1850’s, when Chinese came. They were followed
by the Japanese in the 1880’s, and then the Koreans
and Filipinos in the early 1990’s. these groups were the
last major Asian immigrants to the islands. The
immigration process continues today, but now many
workers arrive from Mexico and Central America.
This is the textual division into types, kinds or
categories according to a single basis of division
(similarities or differences)
SIGNAL WORDS: divided into, there are x types
of…, subcategories, classify, group.
Cabinet shops can be categorized by both that is used
and the type(s) of machinery that they might have in
them. There are a few different types of cabinet shops
and they are: the home hobbyist’s shop, mom and
pop shops, residential shops, and commercial shops.
The home hobbyist normal works out their home or
possibly their garage, and they might not have very
much space to work with. […] The second type is the
Mom and Pop shops which usually run out of
something a bit bigger than a garage, like a barn or it is
possible they have a small shop away from their house
to work in. There are still a lot of handheld power tools
like the ones listed for the home hobbyist, but there is
now the need to have more tools in the shop […]

DEFINITION
It explains the meaning of a new, difficult or
special term. It answers the question What is
it?
Definition: identification strategies
- Synonym: explains the term by using the
words that mean the same thing. Example: To
procrastinate is to slack.
- Class: you put your topic in a larger category
to explain your term. Example: a pineapple is
a tropical fruit that has an acidic and sweet
taste.
- Negation: the writer first says something is
not and then says what it is. Example: a
snowcone is not ice cream cone, but rather a
shredded ice and syrup treat.
SIGNAL WORDS: verb to be, other verbs such as
mean, define, represent, consider, call, name.
EXEMPLIFICATION
it shows how a word/term is used or applied.
SIGNAL WORDS: for example, to illustrate, for
instance, that is, as an example, in fact,
specifically, such as, like.
“Reading is my tool to feel happier. To illustrate, I was
feeling very sad last week; I started reading my favorite
book, and I got so much into it that I forgot I even
existed.”
COMPARISON AND CONTRAST
This pattern points out the similarities between
two elements, or the differences among them.
This tends to be done through the use of
conjunctions and organization strategies.
SIGNAL WORDS:
COMPARISON: similarly, like, the same as,
compared to, in the same way, likewise, have in
common, share, resemble.
CONTRAST: but, yet, on the other hand,
however, instead, nevertheless, on the contrary,
in contrast, all but, whereas.
Comparison example:
My hometown and my college town have several
things in common. First, both are small rural
communities. For example, my hometown, Gridlock,
has a population of only about 10,000 people.
Similarly, my college town, Subnormal, consist of
about 11,000 local residents. This population swells to
15,000 people when the college students are attending
classes. A second way in which these two towns are
similar is that they are both located in rural areas.
Gridlock is surrounded by many acres of farmland
which is devoted mainly to growing corn and soybeans.
In the same way, Subnormal lies in the center of
farmland which is used to raise hogs and cattle.
Contrast example:
Even though Arizona and Rhole Island are both states
of the U.S., they are strikingly different in many
ways. For example, the physical size of each state is
different. Arizona is large, having an area of 114,000
square miles, whereas Rhode Island is only about a
tenth the size, having an area of only 1,214 square
miles. Another difference is in the size of the
population of each state. Arizona has about four
million people living in it, but Rhode Island has less
than one million.
CAUSE AND EFFECT (C/E)
Cause/effect paragraphs generally follow basic
paragraph format. That is, they begin with a topic
sentence and this sentence is followed by
specific supporting details.
It shows the different causes and effects of
various conditions.
C/E: Basic structure
- The assertion: the claim you are trying to
prove (conclusion).
- The facts: the information to consider.
- The reasoning: the explanation of how you
reached your conclusion from the information.
SIGNAL WORDS: because, for this reason, due
to, cause, on account of, if this… then this, as a
result, since, consequently, therefore, thus, in
effect, resulting in, the outcome is, lead to.
In recent decades, cities have grown so large that
now about 50% of the Earth’s population lives in
urban areas. There are several reasons for this
occurrence. First, the increasing industrialization of the
nineteenth century resulted in the creation of many
factory jobs, which tended to be located in cities. These
jobs, with their promise of a better material life,
attracted many people from rural areas. Second, there
were many schools established to educate the children
of the new factory laborers. The promise of a better
education persuaded many families to leave farming
communities and move to the cities. Finally, as the
cities grew, people established places of leisure,
entertainment, and culture, such as sports stadiums,
theaters, and museums. For many people, these
facilities made city life appear more interesting than
life on the farm, and therefore drew them away from
rural communities.
HYPOTHESIS
This pattern present suppositions or assumptions
under certain circumstances, but they can be
refuted.

PROCESS ANALYSIS
It explains the arrangement of a sequence in
chronological order.
It presents steps or stages that lead up to a final
product. (proceso, para un resultado)

SIGNAL WORDS: how to, in the process of, the

following steps, first, second, third…
Garlic Chicken with White Wine
First, trim the chicken pieces of excess fat. Sprinkle
them lightly with salt. Let sit at room temp while you
peel the garlic. Then, lightly smash the garlic cloves
with the side of a heavy chef’s knife. After that, brown
the chicken pieces on hot oil. Add the garlic and sauté
until golden brown, about 4 min.
PROBLEM-SOLUTION
Problem solution paragraphs present a problem
and describes two or more possible solutions to
that problem. They:
- State and define the problem.
- Suggest the possible solutions.
- Evaluate the solutions.
- Make a recommendation.
(Bueno, Malo, Más o menos)
SIGNAL WORDS: problem, question, puzzle,
need, difficulty, dilemma, challenge, issue,
answer, propose, suggest, solve, resolved,
improve, plan, respond to a need.
(palabras como solution de manera explícita…)
PURPOSE
It states the objective of an intention in relation to
an idea.
SIGNAL WORDS: because, in order to, with the
objective/´purpose of, aim at, intend to, infinitives
of purpose.
“To collect information about the participants’
background knowledge, researchers used a ten-question
questionnaire”
ARGUMENT
- This pattern works by presenting a position
which can be supported through evidence or
opinions.
- The fact that a text presents arguments does
not turn the whole text into an argumentative
one.
- An argument is a sentence expressing just a
personal debatable opinion (subjective and
debatable).

SIGNAL WORDS: should, must, need to, if…

then…
 Si hay varios en un mismo texto.

DESCRIPTION AND NARRATION

MIXED PATTERNS

Implicit and Explicit Information

Explicit
- Clear and fully expressed.
- No hidden connotation.
- No room for misunderstanding.
- Not open to interpretation.
Implicit
- Not directly stated.
- It is suggested in the wording.
- Logical deduction is necessary.

Fact and Opinion

FACTS
— Facts are objective, neutral, and concrete bits OPINIONS
of information.
— Opinions are based on subjective judgement
— Objective facts are what researchers seek in
and personal values rather than on information
laboratories or through controlled studies.
that can be verified.
— Facts are usually expressed by precise
— An opinion is a belief that someone holds
numbers or quantities, in weights and
without complete proof or positive knowledge
measures, and in concrete language.
that it is correct.
— Can be verified in reference books, official
— Most of the time, they involve abstract
records, and so forth.
concepts and complex moral issues such as
— Are expressed in concrete language or
right or wrong, fairness and loyalty.
specific numbers.
— Are often expressed with biased words (far
— State reality.
more, much more, amazingly).
— Once verified, are generally agreed upon by
— Are often expressed by adjectives (fun, good,
people.
great, crazy, bad).
— Involve evaluation (the excellence of her
EXAMPLES
science project was a model for other
• Christopher Columbus discovered America students).
in 1492.
• The human body has 206 bones. EXAMPLES
• 56% of US gun deaths are suicide. • Most people don’t like history classes.
• 18 is the legal drinking age in CR. • Surfing is an amazing experience.
• Your lifestyle is not acceptable. It’s terrible
for your health.
 • Incredibly, Costa Rican don’t want to vote
but expect a change in the management of
the government.
BLENDED FACTS AND
OPINIONS
Many statements use words pr phrases that
belong to both concrete and abstract langue.
Such statements are a blend of fact and opinion.
EXAMPLES
Tone and Purpose
Author’s Purpose
 An author's purpose is the main reason the
author decides to write about a specific topic.
 Author’s purpose can be stated explicitly or
readers may have to infer the intent.
 Reflective readers are able to analyze
information more thoughtfully when they
know the author’s purpose.
 Identifying the author’s purpose may give
clues to a reader for how to pace their
reading. Students need to adjust their reading
rate for various selections.
Inform Entertain Persuade
-Facts -Fiction -Gets you to
-Teach -Amuse do something.
-Explain -Joke -Argue
-Convince
QUESTIONS TO EXPLORE THE AUTHOR’S
PURPOSE
 Based on the title, why do think the author
wrote this selection?
 Which words do you think best describe
the main reason the author wrote this
selection: to provide readers with information?
To describe a person, event, or issue? To
express their own thoughts and feelings? To
persuade readers to think about an issue in a
certain way and to take action? Or to entertain
the reader?
 Why did the author write the article from a
particular point of view?
• Christopher Columbus discovered America
in 1492, bringing native people death and
despair.
• Surprisingly, the human body has only 206
bones.
• People should be worried about the fact that
56% of US gun deaths are suicide.
• 18 is the drinking age in Costa Rica.
Because of that, young Americans love our
country.
 How did the author influence your response
to the selection?
 Was the author’s purpose specifically
stated?
 Do you think that the author achieved his/her
intended purposes? Did the article
effectivelygive information? Entertain
readers? Express the author’s thoughts and
feelings? Persuade readers to think about an
issue and/or take action?
 What examples from the text support your
conclusions about author’s purpose?
Tone of a Text
 Tone in writing is not really any different than
the tone of your voice. You know that
sometimes it is not “what” you say, but
“how” you say it.
 It is the same with writing. Every adjective
and adverb you use, your sentence structure,
and the imagery you use will show your tone.
The definition of “tone” is the way the author
expresses his attitude through his writing.
 The tone can change very quickly, or may
remain the same throughout the story. Tone is
expressed by your use of syntax, your point of
view, your diction, and the level of formality in
your writing.