Asignatura Transversal

Comunicación Profesional en Inglés

Módulo Básico
Módulo básico ................................................................................................................. 3

1. Content ...................................................................................................................... 4

1.1. The verb To Be ...................................................................................................... 4

1.2. Present Continuous ................................................................................................ 5

1.3. Personal pronouns .................................................................................................. 7

1.4. Articles, countable and uncountable nouns ................................................................ 8

Articles, countable and uncountable nouns (II) ................................................................. 9

Articles, countable and uncountable nouns (III) .............................................................. 11

1.5. Can .................................................................................................................... 13

1.6. To have. There is / there are. Some / any ............................................................... 13

To have. There is / there are. Some / any (II) ................................................................ 14

1.7. Prepositions. Prepositions of place: in, at, on ........................................................... 15

Prepositions. Prepositions of place: in, at, on (II) ............................................................ 17

1.8. Questions (How; Wh-) .......................................................................................... 18

Questions (How; Wh-) (II) ........................................................................................... 19

1.9. Expressing possession .......................................................................................... 20

Expressing possession (II) ........................................................................................... 21

2. References ............................................................................................................... 23

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Módulo básico
• Verb TO BE
• Personal Pronouns (subject / object)
• Present continuous
• Personal pronouns (II)
• Articles, countable and uncountable nouns
• Can
• To have
• There is / there are
• Prepositions
• Questions (how; wh-)
• Expressing possession

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1. Content

1.1. The verb To Be

Note

We use short forms (also called contractions) in informal written English and very often in
spoken English.

Examples:

I´m not okay, my friend.

Mr. Anderson, you are always late!

The verb To Be is probably the most widely used verb in English. It can be used alone, as main
verb, referring to:

• the physical location of somebody: He is at home.

• or to express their qualities: She is very beautiful.
• or to express a state or something that is true at any given time: I am 35 years old. He is
a student.

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The verb To Be can also be used with other verb to form different verb tenses (as we will see
later in this unit): He is reading now.

Did you know…?

The verb To Be is translated into Spanish as ser o estar. You may think English language is
difficult, but for English speakers it is very hard to tell the difference between these verbs!

The verb To Be is highly irregular in English. Let’s have a look at its affirmative, interrogative and
negative forms for each person.

AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE INTERROGATIVE NEGATIVE

To make questions INTERROGATIVE

you need to invert
FULL SHORT FULL SHORT the order of
the FULL SHORT
verb To Be and the
subject in the
sentence

I am I’m I am not I’m not Am I? Am I not? Aren’t I?

You are You’re You are not You’re not Are you? Are you not? Aren’t you?

He is He’s He is not He’s not Is he? Is he not? Isn’t he?

She is She’s She is not She’s not Is she? Is she not? Isn’t she?

It is It’s It is not It’s not Is it? Is it not? Isn’t it?

We are We’re We are not We’re not Are we? Are we not? Aren’t we?

You are You’re You are not You’re not Are you? Are you not? Aren’t you?

They are They’re They are They’re not Are they? Are they Aren’t
not not? they?

1.2. Present Continuous

The Present Continuous is used to express that something is happening now (and also that it is
not happening now).

Example: You are learning English now.

It is also used for actions in progress, even if those actions may not be taking place at the
moment of speaking.

Example: I am studying to become a doctor.

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The Present Continuous is formed with the Present Simple tense of the verb To Be plus the main
action verb ending in –ing.

To make questions or negative sentences using the Present Continuous, we just need to use the
verb To Be in interrogative or negative form. Let’s see some examples:

• You are reading a book.

• You are not reading a book.
• Are you reading a book?
• He is playing the guitar.

• He is not playing the guitar.

• Is he playing the guitar?

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1.3. Personal pronouns
A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun. We have both subject and object pronouns:

Subject Object

I Me

You You

He Him

She Her

It It

We Us

You You

They Them

Subject pronouns are used as the subject of the verb (the thing or person doing the action – or
having the state - described by the verb):

Examples:

• I am a teacher.
• You are studying English.

Object pronouns are used as the object of the verb (meaning, the thing or person they replace
is not doing the action or having the state described by the verb) and also after prepositions:

Examples:

• I can see you.

• I’m waiting for her.

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1.4. Articles, countable and uncountable nouns

Remember

It is the sound (and not the spelling) what matters!

I want to study in a European university. (Sounds like "yu-ro-pe-an"; so it begins with

a semi-consonant, not with a vowel)

Enjoy a unique experience! (Sounds like "yu-nique")

Articles define a noun as specific or unspecific. There are three articles in English: the, a and an.

THE is a definite article, and it is used when talking about a specific thing; in other words, when
referring to something known.

A and AN are indefinite articles, and they are used when generalising; in other words, when
referring to a category, rather than to a specific element.

The article A is used before singular, countable nouns which begin with consonant sounds.

Note

Neither A nor AN can be used with plural nouns or uncountable nouns

Examples:

He is a teacher.

I´m reading a book.

The article AN is used before singular, countable nouns which begin with vowel sounds.

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Examples:

• I saw an elephant at the zoo.

• She is an actress.

If there is an adjective or an adverb-adjective combination before the noun, A/AN should agree
with the first sound in the adjective or the adverb-adjective combination.

Examples:

• He is an excellent teacher.
• I saw a huge elephant at the zoo.

Note

Some words have multiple meanings. In some cases one of the meanings is countable and
the other one uncountable

I couldn't see anything because there was no light. (Uncountable noun)

The Christmas tree was covered with hundreds of lights. (Countable noun)

Countable and uncountable nouns

• Countable nouns are nouns that can be counted. Most nouns in English are countable.
Examples:
I have two cats.
He has five exams next week.
• Uncountable nouns are not counted in English. Uncountable nouns tend to belong to one
of the following categories: liquids and gases (water, coffee, air, etc.), solid and granular
substances (metal, sand, rice, etc.), energy words and forces (electricity, heat, radiation,
etc.), subjects (French, science, etc.), grouped concepts (fruit, food, money, etc.),
information and abstract concepts (advice, democracy, intelligence, etc.).

Articles, countable and uncountable nouns (II)

We can use a quantity expression (some, lots of, etc.) for plural and uncountable nouns.

Examples:

• I drink lots of coffee.

• Some students are very lazy.

Numbers (ordinal and cardinal)

Cardinal numbers are also known as “counting numbers”, because they show quantity.

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 0 Zero 16 Sixteen

1 One 17 Seventeen

2 Two 18 Eighteen

3 Three 19 Nineteen

4 Four 20 Twenty

5 Five 21 Twenty-one

6 Six 30 Thirty

7 Seven 40 Forty

8 Eight 50 Fifty

9 Nine 60 Sixty

10 Ten 70 Seventy

11 Eleven 80 Eighty

12 Twelve 90 Ninety

13 Thirteen 100 One hundred

14 Fourteen 1,000 One thousand

15 Fifteen 1,000,000 One million

Examples:

I have two computers.

She sleeps ten hours per day.

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Articles, countable and uncountable nouns (III)
Ordinal numbers tell the order of things in a set. They do not show quantity, they only show
rank or position.

1º First 16º Sixteenth

2º Second 17º Seventeenth

3º Third 18º Eighteenth

4º Fourth 19º Nineteenth

5º Fifth 20º Twentieth

6º Sixth 21º Twenty-first

7º Seventh 30º Thirtieth

8º Eighth 40º Fortieth

9º Ninth 50º Fiftieth

10º Tenth 60º Sixtieth

11º Eleventh 70º Seventieth

12 Twelfth 80 Eightieth

13 Thirteenth 90 Ninetieth

14 Fourteenth 100 One hundredth

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 15 Fifteenth 1,000 One thousandth

Examples:

• Neil Armstrong was the first person to walk on the Moon.

• The Sixth Sense is a very popular film.

Note

In compound ordinal numbers, note that only the last figure is written as an ordinal number:

421st = four hundred and twenty-first

When expressed as figures, the last two letters of the written word are added to the ordinal
number.

Examples:

• First = 1st
• Second = 2nd
• Third = 3rd
• Fourth = 4th
•
One hundred and first = 101st

In names for kings and queens, ordinal numbers are written in Roman numbers. In spoken
English, the definite article is used before the ordinal number.

Examples:

• Henry VIII = Henry the Eighth

• Richard III = Richard the Third

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1.5. Can
The verb Can is used to express ability or opportunity, to request or offer permission, and to show
possibility or impossibility.

AFFIRMATIVE Subject + can (auxiliary + main verb (infinitive

verb) without to)

NEGATIVE Subject + can’t + main verb (infinitive

without to)

INTERROGATIVE Can + subject + main verb (infinitive

without to)

Can is invariable, there is only one form (can)

Examples:

• I can play the guitar.

• He can speak French.
• She can’t swim.
• Can you do it?

Be able to can also be used to express ability in present tense (it cannot be used instead of can
for requests or permission). You can use either can or be able to, but can is more common among
native speakers.

1.6. To have. There is / there are. Some / any

The verb To Have means to possess. It is a transitive verb and therefore it is followed by a direct
object (the thing you have). Unlike the verb to own (which also means to possess), the verb to
have can be followed both by things and by people (and not only by things!).

Examples:

• I have a car.
• I have a brother.
• I own a car.
• - I own a brother.

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AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE INTERROGATIVE

FULL SHORT FULL SHORT

I have I’ve I have not I haven´t Have I?

You have You’ve You have not You haven´t Have you?

He has He’s He has not He hasn´t Has he?

She has She’s She has not She hasn´t Has she?

It has It’s It has not It hasn´t Has it?

We have We’ve We have not We haven´t Have we?

You have You’ve You have not You haven´t Have you?

They have They’ve They have not They haven´t Have they?

To have. There is / there are. Some / any (II)

There is/are are used to expresses the existence of someone/something in a certain place.

We use there is with countable singular nouns and uncountable nouns.

Note

The verb To Have could also mean to take, to eat, to drink or to experience.

She is having a nap. = She is taking a nap.

Everybody here loves having pudding. = Everybody here loves eating pudding.

I always have coffee for breakfast. = I always drink coffee for breakfast.

He had a heart attack. = He experienced a heart attack.

Examples:

• Waiter, there is a fly in my soup!

• There is snow on the street.
• We use there are with countable plural nouns.

Examples:

• Waiter, there are two flies in my soup!

• The negative form is there isn´t/aren´t followed by the quantity word any.

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Examples:

• There isn´t any student in that class.

• There aren´t any apples left.
• The interrogative form is is/are there…?

Examples:

• Is there a student in that class?

• Are there any apples left?
• Some is a quantity word for plural and non-count nouns, and it means “a few/a little” or
“not many/not much”.

Examples:

• Is there some water in that bottle?

• Are there some apples left?

1.7. Prepositions. Prepositions of place: in, at, on

Prepositions are words that describe a relationship between other words. There are several types
of prepositions. Prepositions of place express how something is situated in relationship to
something else. The prepositions of place are in, at and on.

In is used for enclosed space

Examples:

• There are five students in my class.

• I live in London.

At is used for a specific point or address

• They always meet at the bus stop.

• He knocked at the door.

On is used for a surface

• The book is on the table.

• I love sitting on that bench at the edge of the hill contemplating the horizon.

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 Figure 1. Bench. Author: Christian Relmer. Source: Fickr.

However, there are some exceptions to this rule:

IN AT ON

In the newspaper At home On a bus

In the sky At work On a train

In a row At school On a plane

At university On a ship

At college On a bicycle

On the radio

On television

On the left/right

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Prepositions. Prepositions of place: in, at, on (II)

Figure 2. Time. Author: kelth Allison. Source: Flickr.

The prepositions of time are in, at and on.

In is used for months, years, centuries and long periods of time

Examples:

• My birthday is in May.
• Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492.

At is used for a precise time

Examples:

• I get up at 7am.
• He always goes for a walk at noon.

On is used for days and dates

Examples:

• She goes to Church on Sundays.

• Everybody is happy on Christmas Day!

Note

When we say last, next, every, this we do not use at, in, on.

• I graduated last May. (I graduated in last May.)

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However, there are some exceptions to this rule:

IN ON

In the morning/afternoon/evening On Tuesday morning/afternoon/evening

In the mornings/afternoons/evenings On Tuesday mornings/afternoons/evenings

1.8. Questions (How; Wh-)

Play

Watch this video to learn about the right intonation for each question:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLKj44irIb8

There are several question words in English:

HOW is used to ask about the manner something is done.

Examples:

• How do you go to school?

• How can I get that discount?

There are some other questions that also use the word HOW:

• How much is used to ask about a quantity (uncountable nouns) or a price.

Examples:

How much money do you have?

How much is this jacket?

• How many is used to ask about a quantity (countable nouns).

Examples:

How many brothers and sisters do you have?

How many friends are coming to your party?

• How often is used to ask about the frequency.

Examples:

How often do you come to class?

How often are you sick?

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 • How far is used to ask about the distance.

Examples:

How far is the closest supermarket?

How far is the hospital from your home?

Questions (How; Wh-) (II)

Did you know…?

Did you know that to tell a good story, you need the 5 Ws?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlBKSeQnxmw

WHO is used to ask about people.

Examples:

• Who is the author of that book?

• Who is your best friend?

WHERE is used to ask about a place or location.

Examples:

• Where do you live?

• Where are my keys?

WHEN is used to ask about time.

Examples:

• When is your birthday?

• When do the shops open?

WHY is used to ask about the reason of something.

Examples:

• Why do you do that?

• Why don´t you stop smoking?

Normally the response begins with "Because..."

WHAT is used to ask about specific information.

Examples:

• What is your name?

• What is her favourite movie?

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WHICH is used when a choice needs to be made.

Examples:

• Which city do you prefer, London or Edinburgh?

• Which one is better, this one or that one?

1.9. Expressing possession

POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS

My Mine

Your Yours

His His

Her Hers

Its -

Our Ours

Your Yours

Their Theirs

Note

Adjectives are never plural in English, so possessive adjectives have only one form:

That is my brother.

Those are my brothers.

There is no commonly used possessive pronoun for it.

A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun, therefore when we use a possessive pronoun
it should appear alone, in other words, not followed by a noun. Only possessive adjectives are
followed by a noun.

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Examples:

• My dog is very smart. – possessive adjective

• Mine is a bit lazy. – possessive pronoun

Expressing possession (II)

Saxon Genitive

Note

Irregular plural nouns take the apostrophe + s:

International Women's Day

This structure is used to express possession. The apostrophe + s is added to singular nouns
(except objects) and just the apostrophe to plural nouns (except objects).

Examples:

• My friend’s book.
• My parents’ business.

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 Note

The “possession” relationship between two objects can be expressed by using one as an
adjective (first position) and the other one as a noun (second position). The noun in second
position is the thing which "belongs" to the other noun.

Examples:

Shirt buttons

We can also use the preposition of in those cases with the same meaning.

Example:

• The buttons of my shirt.

Whose…?

Note

Don’t mistake whose and who’s (who’s means who is).

Whose book is this? (Who does this book belong to?).

Who’s there? (Who is there).

We use whose to ask a question about possession. It works for both singular and plural nouns.

Examples:

• Whose coat is this? – It is mine.

• Whose gloves are these? – They are Mary’s.

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2. References

Main resources

Carter, R., McCarthy R., Mark, G., O’Keeffe, A. (2011). English Grammar Today. Cambridge
University Press.

Eastwood, J. (1994). Oxford Guide to English Grammar, Oxford, Oxford University Press.

Murphy, R. (2012). English Grammar in Use (4th ed.) Cambridge University Press.

Additional resources

Cruz, J. and P. Trainor. (1989). Curso de sintaxis inglesa. Madrid: Taurus Universitaria
Lingüística.

Sánchez Benedito, F, et al. (2001). A New English Grammar for Spanish Speakers. Granada:
Comares.

Swan, M., Walter, C. (1996). How English Works, Oxford, Oxford University Press.

Swan, M. (2000). Practical English Usage. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Thomson, A.J., Martinet A. V. (1985). A Practical English Grammar (4th edition), Oxford, Oxford
University Press.

Other resources

British Council website

Different resources and exercises to watch and listen, games, grammar, etc.

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/elementary-podcasts

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/fun-and-games

BBC Learning English

Very good on pronunciation!! And more...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/pronunciation

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/

BBC 4 radio

Interesting and varied programmes on a wide range of topics; you can listen to the live or you
can stream (or download) podcasts.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4

NPR radio

Let’s listen to some American English. A radio station as good and interesting as BBC4

http://www.npr.org/

BC Phonemic chart for individual sounds / Howjsay – for words

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Let’s improve our pronunciation

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/phonemic-chart

http://www.howjsay.com/

NEWSPAPERS

BRITISH

The Daily Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardian/

The Independent: http://www.independent.co.uk/

Private Eye: http://www.private-eye.co.uk/

Reader's Digest: http://www.readersdigest.co.uk/

AMERICAN

The Herald Tribune: http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage

The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/

The Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/

AUSTRALIAN

The Sydney Morning Herald: http://www.smh.com.au/

The Age: http://www.theage.com.au/

The West Australian: http://www.thewest.com.au/

Perth Post: http://www.postnewspapers.com.au/

FURTHER STUDY RESOURCES

Ego4u

Interesting site with lots of simple and useful exercises (grammar, reading, etc.)

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar

http://www.ego4u.com/

Edu find

Good grammar guide

http://www.edufind.com/english-grammar/english-grammar-guide/

DICTIONARIES

Macmillan, http://www.macmillandictionary.com/

Oxford, http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/es/?view=uk

Cambridge, http://dictionary.cambridge.org/

Merriam-Webster, http://www.merriam-webster.com/

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Bab.la diccionario, http://es.bab.la/diccionario/ingles-espanol/

Wordreference, http://www.wordreference.com/

ONLINE BOOKS

http://www.classicreader.com/list/authors/

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