Are you interested in Spanglish false friends such as words which have two meanings in Spanish but only one of them in English? Are you looking for a fun way to prepare for a B2+ Cambridge exam? I’ve just started to publish some great tables and collections on my Instagram account @northernspainelf
STORIES:
…… first / …. the beginning,
Next, / Then, / (…………) later, / After some time, / After that, / After a wh…….., / A………..s, / As soon as / M….w…….e,
Suddenly, / ……. her great surprise,
…. the end, / …. the end of the tunnel there was… / Eventually, / Finally,
ARTICLES:
example topic: pets
Would you like to have a pet?
Have you every had a pet?
I`m sure you`d agree that pets make our lives much better.
You may not agree with me, but I think we all should have at least one pet.
Now I know what you`re thinking: looking after a pet can take a lot of time.
If you ask me, pets make our lives much more exciting.
As you can imagine, I simply adore my dog.
Why not get a hamster?
So why do we keep our pet birds in cages?
I used to have three different pets.
I`ll never forget my first pet.
That`s when I realised that maybe a flat is not a good place for them.
If only more people were aware of that!
To my surprise, few people know how much time outside a dog really needs.
All in all, most pet owners mean well, but we probably should think more about the global picture than ourselves.
Correct the essay by getting rid of all the repeated vocab and logical errors.
It is undoubtedly the case that choosing a career presents a serious challenge to governments. Furthermore, more and more people think carefully about what career to choose as it will play an important role in their future. There are a great deal of things you can consider when choosing a career, however, perhaps, pay and job satisfaction are the most important.
Regarding the pay, this is one of the most important points as it will be very helpful in the future. [WHY?] That’s why it is important to choose a career where you earn plenty of money because this makes your life easier. The thing is that money isn’t everything. For instance, if you have a job where you earn plenty of money but you aren’t happy, your life will be boring and you will never achieve happiness.
Concerning job satisfaction, if you have a job that makes you happy and is really interesting for you, you should definitely stick to it. Not only will you have the job you like but also you will be happier in your life. Moreover, you will have a sense of achievement and your everyday life will be very amusing and also entertaining. [EXAMPLES? STATISTICS?]
In conclusion, choosing a career isn’t an easy job. Both pay and job satisfaction would make a significant contribution to a solution. However, given the above, relying on job satisfaction would be far more effective, especially since you will be happier and your everyday life will be amusing and entertaining.
Inversion (the same structure as in English questions, that is with the auxiliary first, followed by the subject and the other verbs if any) is usually triggered by a negative word or a negative expression.
Please pay attention to the following:
LIFE EXPERIENCE
Never ………. I enjoyed myself more!
R……….ly can a minister have been faced with such a problem.
S………m has the team given a worse performance.
ONE ACTION AFTER ANOTHER
Hardly had the train left the station, ……….. there was an explosion.
Scarcely …….. I entered the room when the phone rang.
No sooner had I reached the door ………. I realised it was locked.
B……..ly was the team back on the pitch when it started raining.
IMPOSSIBLE OPTION
On no c………… are they to open fire without a warning.
…….. no circumstances are they to open fire without a warning.
………… no account are they to open fire without a warning.
EXPLANATION NEEDED
Only after ……………….. the letter did I remember that I had forgotten to put on a stamp.
Only when ………………. the letter did I remember that I had forgotten to put on a stamp.
Not ………. I got home did I notice that I had the wrong umbrella.
EXTREMES
……. devastating were the floods that some areas may never recover.
……. was the force of the storm that trees were uprooted.
CONDITIONALS
Were they ……. escape, there would be an outcry.
……….. you hear anything, let me know.
…….. I known, I would have protested strongly.
Paragraph 1 Introduce the topic using a general statement and give your opinion. Say whether you agree or disagree with the statement.
Paragraph 2-4 Give the first/second/third reason to support your opinion. Provide specific justifications for your opinion, using examples if necessary.
Paragraph 5 Summarise your ideas and repeat your opinion using different words to provide a strong conclusion
Adults often believe teenagers to be noisy, childish and violent. Some of them even think that adolescents do not have any mature thoughts at all but, as a teenager, I think we are intelligent enough to teach other people some things.
For example, plenty of teenagers have better knowledge of technology, so they can teach the older generation how to deal with gadgets. In our neighbourhood there are special classes for seniors where they are taught to work on computers, and their teachers are under twenty.
Moreover, teenagers have a great knowledge of ecology – actually, they are really concerned about saving the planet. My peers talk a lot about environment at school, we take part in ecology projects and contests and often win them. As a result, we have a lot to tell the others about environmental problems and ways of solving them.
Besides this, people my age can also teach adults foreign languages. According to the statistics, 50% of pensioners in our country do not know any foreign languages, that`s why it is us who help our grandparents out when we are on holiday abroad together.
To sum up, in my view teenagers possess numerous skills, which means that they can teach people from older generations. Hopefully, adults can realise and appreciate that.
This website does not only count the words in your piece of writing – it will also tell you (under “details” on the right) what your level is. An essay (or other formal genre) written in advanced/C1 English (good CAE level) will be described as “college student”.
As for the word count itself, remember that it`s not worth counting your words during the exam (unless you are very bored). If composing paragraph of adequate length is a problem for you, the teacher would already have warned you about it.
Make the sentences shorter and use linking words where appropriate:
I used to be one of the least responsible people in the world at the time of recycling, I wasn’t worried about the environment but after looking at those terrible predictions that professionals are doing, I decided that I was going to change.
I bought recycling bins and I thought they were going to be difficult to remember and at the beginning it was but now I’m accustomed and it helps a lot.
We live in a consumerist society and we must avoid the use of plastic, there are many easy things which change a lot your ecologic footprint, buy a cloth bag for use of bamboo or metal instead of plastic, this last one is really popular now and they are making many things of these materials. The worst thing about the use of plastic are the consequences in animals, that plastic is killing fantastic ecosystems.
Being an environmentally conscious person is so easy and it`s worth the effort, let`s help the world!
Check out a previous post about the very structure of this part with some tips (enter “speaking” in this blog`s search box, then scroll down to the relevant strategies).
Speculating: might have, might be …ing, might well, could, perhaps, I guess, I suppose, I can imagine, it looks as if, they seem to be …ing, they seem to have ….ed, as far as I can tell, clearly, it`s hard to tell, I wonder, looks like, certainly
Jumping from one photo to another: “As for x”, “As to x”, “Regarding x”, “x ……. while y ……”, “x ……. whereas y ……..”, “In contrast, y…”
Comparison: a lot more, much more, far more, one key difference is that …, both,
Useful expressions for Speaker B: definitely, clearly, certainly, by far the …est, by far the most …., I think I`d choose, there is no doubt, I`d go for, I find it quite
If you speak Spanish, you normally understand a lot of “Latin-looking” words in English, but there are some traps: false friends when it comes to meaning, spelling, word formation and so on. you can find my previous posts on that topic by entering key words such as “false friends” or “word formation” in this blog`s search box.
1. What is the negative form of: lead, experienced, significant, knowingly, offensive?
2. What is the spelling mistake in: uninteligible, porcentage, tapper, femenine, physionomy, linfatic?
3. What do these actually mean: illegitimate, illiterate, unbearable, comprehensive, thoughtful, forgetful, replace, hopeless, thrilling?
4. What`s the structure after: discourage, related, responsable?
5. How do we pronounce: legal, rational, creative, sociable, automatic, specialisation?
6. Why can`t we say: blood analysis, a comprehensive friend, speak in public with security?
Lacurban 