Unit 6 A2 Nature
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What will you learn in this lesson?
- Exam skill: You will learn how to do the Writing, part 7
- Grammar: You will learn prepositions ON, IN and AT, Past Participle of a verb and how to use the Present Perfect
- Vocabulary: Nature vocabulary
- Pronunciation: Diphthongs
1)Exam skill: Writing
What’s the Writing about?
The Writing has 4 parts (from 6 to 9) and 4 types of exercises: Word completion (escribir la palabra que está expresada en la definición), Open cloze (completar espacios en blanco con tus propias palabras), Information transfer (completar información), Short message (escribir un mensaje corto).
In this lesson we will study Part 7, which is the second exercise of the Writing.
Parte | Tarea | Número de preguntas | Formato de pregunta |
Writing Part 7 | Word completion (completar con tus propias palabras) | 10 | There is one text or two shorter texts with 10 spaces (41-50). You must fill each space with one word. |
What are they going to ask you?
They are going to ask you to complete the blanks spaces with your own words. The text is usually a postcard or a letter and the words are usually articles, pronouns, prepositions, quantifiers, and verbs. There can be more than one answer. Te pedirán que completes los espacios en blanco con tus propias palabras. El texto es generalmente una postal o carta y las palabras son artículos, pronombres, preposiciones, cuantificadores y verbos. Puede haber más de una respuesta.
Example:
“Hello Rick,
I’m __IN___ Paris now. I arrived last night. I’m so happy __TO__ be __IN__France again.
I just bought _A___baguette and _SOME_____ jam, and I’m planning __TO_ have breakfast _ON___ my terrace while looking
__AT__ the people on the street. I _WOULD__ love to see you soon. Please, write to__ME__ Love Sandra.”
- In, to, on = prepositions
- A = article
- Some = quantifier
- Would = modal verb
- Me = object pronoun
How will we learn all these words? The best way to learn these words is by listening to simple texts (such as the one above), then reading and repeating the words aloud in sentences. In this lesson we will learn the prepositions IN, ON, and AT. Please, go to section “2) Grammar” for further details.
Exercise 1
Part 7
Complete this postcard
Write ONE word for each space.
For questions 41-50. write the words on your answer sheet.
Example:
0 | on |
******
Source (official Cambridge examination)
Example:
Dear Jane,
I’m sitting (0).…………the beach at the moment. Soon, I’m (41) …..to have a swim. I arrived here three days (42)………….with my family. We (43)……….be on holiday together here for two weeks. It (44)………..a beautiful place. The beach is very near (45)…….hotel. The sea isn’t cold and (46)………are many interesting places to visit. Yesterday we walked (47) ……a village in the mountains. I took lots (4)……photographs. It’s (49)..…pity that you didn’t come (50) ….us
Love Peter |
Exercise 2
The following sentences include common prepositions, articles, quantifiers and verbs used in e-mails, letters or postcards. Translate them and then repeat them aloud until you say them correctly. Traduce las siguientes frases y repitelas en voz alta hasta que lo hagas correctamente.
- ¿ A qué hora llegas hoy?
- Te estoy esperando en la estación.
- Estamos alojados en un bonito hotel.
- Iremos a Londres mañana
- El bosque es precioso.
- Tengo un poco de frío.
- Él hizo algunas fotos
- Me gustaría enseñarte esta playa
- En pocas palabras
- Hay un centro comercial cerca de casa
- Llegamos el viernes pasado
- Ayer fuimos al centro
- Hay mucha gente en la calle
- Hace mucho calor
- Me gustaría que me visitaras.
Exercise 3
Part 7
Complete this e-mail.
Write ONE word for each space.
For questions 41-50. write the words on your answer sheet.
Example:
0 | to |
******
Hello Catherine,
I know you are very anxious (0)….. know what’s my new life like. Well, let (41)…. tell you that I’m (42).…….happy. Yesterday was my first day.(43)…….. class and I met many new people. We have a group foreign students and we go(44) ….. together. I have also made friends (45) …… lots of British students. In fact, the day after I arrived I was(46) ……. to a party where I met my roommate, Sarah who is (47).……..London. My flat is not (48) …….. big but I’m happy because it’s very (49) ……the school. You can visit me whenever you want to because we have (50)….. extra bed for guests. Please, let me know how things are going at your school. Love Isabella |
2) Grammar
2.1. What is a preposition?
A preposition is a word, or phrase, that is usually placed before a noun, or pronoun, to show the relationship to another word in a sentence. Una preposición es una palabra o frase que generalmente se coloca delante de un sustantivo, o pronombre, para mostrar la relación que esta palabra tiene con otra palabra en una oración.
For example: The cat is ON (preposition)–>(relationship) the table (noun)
2.2. Prepositions of Place: ON, IN and AT
ON, IN, and AT are the most common prepositions.
Preposition ON | Example |
She was ON the bus/train/plane | Ella estaba en el autobús/tren/avión |
I saw it ON TV | Lo vi en la televisión |
I found it ON the internet | Lo encontré en internet |
It’s ON the left/right | Está a la izquierda/derecha |
Don’t step ON the carpet | No pises la alfombra |
The picture is ON the wall | La foto/pintura está en la pared |
It’s ON page 5 | Está en la página 5 |
They were ON the beach | Ellos estuvieron en la playa |
The boatmen ON the Seine | Los barqueros en el Sena |
Preposition IN | Example |
They are the best IN the world | Son los mejores del mundo |
The man is IN the room | El hombre está en la habitación |
IN this photograph | En esta fotografía |
He was IN the taxi | Él estaba en el taxi |
Let’s meet IN the street | Encontremos en la calle |
I’ll be IN my office | Estaré en la oficina |
I went IN the shop | Entré en la tienda |
I like the description IN this book | Me gusta la descripción de este libro |
Let’s go IN there | Entremos allí |
Preposition At | Example |
We are AT the restaurant | Estamos en el restaurante |
They were AT the hotel | Ellos estuvieron en el hotel |
We’ll meet AT the airport | Nos encontraremos en el aeropuerto |
They sat AT the table | Nos sentamos a la mesa. |
He’s AT the door | Él está en la puerta (en el umbral) |
They were AT the concert | Estuvieron en el concierto |
The children are AT the school | Los niños están en el colegio. |
He’ll be AT the event | Él estará en el evento |
Let’s meet AT the University | Encontrémonos en la universidad |
Exercise 4
Complete with the right preposition
2.3. What is the past participle of a verb?
The past participle is a verb form that expresses that an action has been completed. El participio pasado es una forma verbal que expresa que una acción se ha completado. It’s used to form the perfect tenses in the active voice and in all tenses of the passive voice. Se utiliza para formar los tiempos perfectos en la voz activa y todos los tiempos de la voz pasiva.
It appears on the list of irregular verbs on the third column. Aparece en la lista de verbos irregulares en la tercera columna.
Let’s see an example:
- Give (dar) Gave (dio) Given (dado)<— Past Participle of the verb
In the case of regular verbs, it is expressed by adding -ED to the verb root just like in the Past Tense.
For example:
- Play (jugar) Played (jugué) Played (jugado)<— Past Participle of the verb
In Spanish the past participle of verbs corresponds to the verbs ending in -ado or ido, and some irregular forms. For example: trabajado, comido or visto.
- Yo he comIDO– I have EATEN.
Exercise 5
Write the Past Participle of the following verbs:
- Give
- Take
- Send
- Work
- Go
- Write
- Speak
- Do
- Make
- Be
2.4. Why do we need to know the past participles?
We need to know the past participles because we are going to learn how to form the Present Perfect. This tense is made with the auxiliary verb “have” and the past participle of the main verb.
2.5. When do we use the Present Perfect?
a. When we want to speak about actions that have happened in the past but have present consequences or a connection to the present.
Example: I have cleaned the garden. He limpiado el jardín. Note:I can see the difference because everything is clean and fresh.(present consequence). Puedo ver la diferencia porque todo está limpio y fresco (consecuencia presente).
b. When we want to speak about things that we did or didn’t do in our life, experiences we have or haven’t had.
Example: I have never been to China. Nunca he estado en China. Note: I haven’t done this in all my life. No he hecho esto en toda mi vida.
2.6. How do we form the Present Perfect?
There are 4 basic forms that you must learn:
- Affirmative sentence
- Negative sentence
- Questions
- Answers
1.Affirmative sentence
Subject + have/has+ main verb ending in past participle + object. Note: Has is for the third person: He, she, it.
Examples:
- I have seen them. Los he visto.
- She has seen them. Ella los ha visto.
2. Negative sentence
Subject + have/has+ not + main verb ending in past participle + object.
Examples:
- I haven’t seen them. No los he visto.
- He hasn’t seen them. Él no los ha visto.
3. Questions
Have/has+ subject + main verb ending in past participle + object?
Examples:
- Have you seen them? ¿Los has visto?
- Has he seen them? ¿Los ha visto él?
Negative question:
Have/has + not + subject + main verb ending in past participle + object?
Examples:
- Haven’t you seen them? ¿No los has visto?
- Hasn’t she seen them? ¿No lo ha visto ella?
4. Answers
Yes, + subject + have/has- No, +subject+not+ have/has.
Examples:
- Yes, I have- No, I haven’t.
- Yes, he has- No, he hasn’t
To Remember:
|
Exercise 6
Translate the following sentences. Check the answers. Once you have corrected the mistakes, repeat them aloud.
- ¿Has visto esa película?
- No he ido al cine
- Ella ha estado ocupada todo el día
- Hemos ido al campo
- ¿No has comprado pan?
- No hemos hecho nada
- Ellos han empezado a comer
- ¿Has estado tú allí?
- ¿Habéis vendido la casa?
- Ella no ha venido a la fiesta
*****************
3)Vocabulary: Nature
Exercise 7
Translate the following sentences. Check the answers. Once you have corrected the mistakes, repeat them aloud.
- Ellos construyeron un dique
- El puente se vino abajo
- El faro se ve desde mi casa
- Hicimos un picnic en la orilla del río
- Vamos a las dunas
- Nunca he estado en el desierto
- Esa pradera es muy bonita
- Vamos a esa colina
- El campo está verde
- La tierra (de cultivo) está lista
Exercise 8
Translate the following sentences. Check the answers. Once you have corrected the mistakes, repeat them aloud.
- Hay piedrecitas (guijarros) en el río
- Fue una ola muy grande
- El musgo es verde
- Los arbustos están secos
- El jardín está lleno de barro
- El camino es muy estrecho
- Tengo arena en los zapatos
- Vimos una cueva muy antigua
- Era una mina de oro
- El estanque estaba seco
4) Pronunciation: Diphthongs
Diphthongs /dɪfθɒŋs/difzongs/ are double vowel sounds in words like late, ride, or sound. Los diptongos son sonidos vocálicos dobles que aparecen en palabras como late, ride o sound. When we say “double vowel sound” we mean that one vowel (sometimes two) is really pronounced as two vowels. For example, we pronounce the word late (tarde) = /leit/ an “e” and an “i” together. Cuando decimos “sonido vocálico doble” nos referimos a que una sola vocal ( a veces dos) se pronuncia como dos vocales. Por ejemplo, pronunciamos la palabra “late” = /leit/ se pronuncia no como una “a” sino como una “e” y una “i”.
In this video you can hear how diphthongs sound
(British accent). Pay attention to the different sounds and repeat them aloud.
- ear /ier/ – oído, oreja
- deer /dier/- venado
- say /sei/ – decir
- afraid /afreid/- asustado
- mine /main/- mio
- likely /laikli/ – probable
- boy /boi/- niño
- coin /coin/- moneda
- pair /pear/- pareja
- where /wuear/- donde
- now /nau/- ahora
- sound /saund/ -sonido
- soap /soup/- jabón
- yellow /ielou/- amarillo.
Mónica
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3 comentarios
Hola Mónica, buenos días, soy Nina Pérez de B/quilla – Colombia, excelente tu blog, me encanta, quisiera saber dónde puedo encontrar las unidades anteriores desde la unidad 1.
Quedo atenta.
Muchas gracias.
Estimada Mónica, sé que las verbos deben ir en ING después de colocar una preposición. Eje: She is afraid of asking for help. ¿Existe una clave para saber qué preposición va después de un verbo en ING? Es decir, a veces hay que usar in, at, to, of y on. Estas preposiciones suelen confundirme. Gracias por su ayuda.
Hola Gerónimo: No se trata de saber qué preposición va después de un verbo en -ING. La preposición que sigue al verbo irá en cualquier tiempo verbal, no solo en -ING.
Por ejemplo:
-She asked FOR help (pasado)
-She is asking FOR help (present continuous)
-She was asking FOR HELP (past continuous. Las preposiciones que siguen a un verbo, cambian el significado del verbo. Por ejemplo: Ask= preguntar Ask for = pedir una cosa. Make = hacer- Make up = inventar. Hay que aprenderse este tipo de verbos que se llama “Phrasal Verbs” de memoria. Si tienes más dudas, vuelve a preguntar. Un saludo, Mónica