GUIA DE INGLES IV

BLOQUE 2

TEMAS:

 Used to.
 Comparatives.
 Tag questions

El verbo “use” significa “usar” o “utilizar”. Sin embargo, cuando utilizamos este verbo en el pasado simple, más
la preposición “to”, como verbo modal, el significado cambia. Además, se puede utilizar "used to*" como
adjetivo*. A continuación, tienes una explicación de los diferentes usos.

Used to (Soler)

Usamos el verbo modal “used to” para indicar algo que ocurría o sucedía en el pasado de manera habitual.
También, se utiliza para algo que antes era verdad, pero ya no lo es. Como con los otros verbos modales, “used
to” está seguido por la forma base del verbo (el infinitivo sin “to”).

Structure (Estructura)

1. Affirmative Sentences (Frases afirmativas)

Sujeto + “used to” + verbo…

Ejemplos:
We used to go to the beach every summer when I was young.(Cuando era joven solíamos ir a la playa cada verano.)
He used to smoke a pack of cigarettes a day, but he quit last year.(Solía fumar un paquete de cigarrillos al día, pero lo
dejó el año pasado.)
I used to like mushrooms, but not anymore.(Antes me gustaban las setas, pero ya no.)
There used to be a great restaurant here, but it closed a few years ago.(Había un buen restaurante aquí, pero cerró
hace unos años.)

2. Negative Sentences (Frases negativas)

Sujeto + “didn’t” + “use to” + verbo…

Ejemplos:
I didn’t use to like mushrooms, but now I do.(Antes no me gustaban las setas, pero ahora sí.)
Food didn’t use to be so expensive.(La comida no solía ser tan cara.)
We didn’t use to go away on holiday very often when I was young.(No solíamos ir de vacaciones a menudo cuando
era joven.)

3. Interrogative Sentences (Frases interrogativas)

 Did + sujeto + “use to” + verbo…?

Ejemplos:
Didn’t he use to smoke a lot?(Él fumaba mucho antes, ¿no?)
Did you use to live here?(¿Vivías aquí antes?)
Did they use to go to the beach in the summers?(¿Solían ir a la playa durante los veranos?)
https://www.curso-ingles.com/aprender/cursos/nivel-intermedio/verb-tenses-past/used-to

Comparatives and Superlatives

Los comparativos sirven justamente para comparar una misma cualidad o característica en dos sustantivos.

Por ejemplo, en la frase "a small shirt" (una camisa chica), small es un adjetivo. Para comparar este objeto con otro,
se usa el adjetivo comparativo, "a smaller shirt" (una camisa más chica).

Para formar el comparativo, se deben seguir las siguientes reglas:

 Se agrega al adjetivo "er" o "r", si ya termina en "e".

small - smaller
 Si la palabra termina en vocal + consonante, se duplica la consonante.
big - bigger
 Si termina en "y" se cambia por "ier".
happy - happier

Cuando el adjetivo tiene más de tres sílabas, el comparativo se forma usando la palabra "more" adelante.

expensive

more expensive

comfortable

more comfortable
Para comparar dos objetos en una misma oración, se agrega "than".

This shirt is smaller than that shirt.

Esta camisa es más chica que aquella camisa.

This dog is bigger than that cat.

Este perro es más grande que aquel gato.

¡Ahora ponte a prueba!

Piensa cómo dirías estas comparaciones.
Para ver la respuesta, pasa el mouse sobre cada frase.

Esta manzana es más pequeña que aquella manzana.

La cocina es más grande que el baño.

El sofá es más caro que la silla.

Este apartamento es más nuevo que aquella casa.

http://www.saberingles.com.ar/curso/lesson12/04.html

Tag Questions

En inglés es frecuente terminar las frases con otra frase corta, de signo contrario, la cual tiene la intención
de pedir la opinión o buscar la aprobación del interlocutor: son las llamadas question tags (preguntas
coletillas). Estas frases equivalen a: ¿verdad?, ¿no es verdad?, ¿no?, ¿no es así? ¿en serio?

Ejemplos:
You eat meat, don’t you?(Comes carne, ¿verdad?)
She doesn’t like to dance, does she?(No le gusta bailar, ¿no?)
Alex and Sergio are friends, aren’t they?(Alex y Sergio son amigos, ¿no?)

Grammatical Rules (Reglas gramaticales)

Para formar esta pregunta corta utilizaremos el auxiliar de la frase principal y su sujeto pero de signo contrario. Si
no tuviera auxiliar entonces utilizaríamos el auxiliar “to do”.

Si la oración es afirmativa, la pregunta coletilla es negativa y viceversa.

Ejemplos:

Oraciones afirmativas
Your brother is older than you, isn’t he?(Tu hermano es mayor que tú, ¿no es así?)
You can help me, can’t you?(Puedes ayudarme, ¿verdad?)
John is getting married, isn’t he?(John se casará, ¿verdad?)
You worked yesterday, didn’t you?(Trabajaste ayer, ¿no?)
Sarah likes ice cream, doesn’t she?(A Sarah le gusta el helado, ¿no?)

Oraciones negativas
You’re not from here, are you?(No eres de aquí, ¿no?)
Kate’s not American, is she?(Kate no es americana, ¿verdad?)
Peter never liked Susan, did he?(A Peter nunca le gustó Susan, ¿verdad?)
They didn’t go to class yesterday, did they?(No fueron a la clase ayer, ¿verdad?)
You can’t dance, can you?(No puedes bailar, ¿no?)
Nota: Ten cuidado con los verbos “to have” y “to have got”.

Ejemplos:

To have got:
They’ve got a dog, haven’t they?(Tienen un perro, ¿no?)

To have:

They have a dog, don’t they?(Tienen un perro, ¿no?)

Excepción: Con el verbo “to be” en la primera persona de oraciones negativas, se usa “aren’t” en la pregunta
coletilla.

Ejemplos:
I am not wrong, am I?
I am wrong, aren’t I?

https://www.curso-ingles.com/aprender/cursos/nivel-intermedio/questions/question-tags
 Exercises.
Used to
Make an affirmative sentence, negative sentence or question using 'used to + infinitive':
1) I / live in a flat when I was a child.___________________________________________________
2) We / go to the beach every summer? ________________________________________________
3) She / love eating chocolate, but now she hates it _______________________________________
4) He / not / smoke _________________________________________________________________
5) I / play tennis when I was at school __________________________________________________
6) She / be able to speak French, but she has forgotten it all ________________________________
7) He / play golf every weekend? ______________________________________________________
8) They both / have short hair ________________________________________________________
9) Julie / study Portuguese __________________________________________________________
10) I / not / hate school _____________________________________________________________
Complete the sentences with the affirmative, negative or interrogative form of used to and the words in
brackets. Use contractions where possible.

used to / didn't use to / didn't use to / Did they use to / used to / did you use to / didn't use to / used
to

1. David Beckham___________ play for Manchester United.

2. We____________ have a computer, but we do now.

3. ______________ (they) work together?

4. That restaurant____________ be a clothes shop.

5. She________________ like him, but now they're married.

6. Where______________ (you) go to school?

7. There________________ be a police station here.

8. I______________ like vegetables, but I do now.

 Comparative Adjectives
Make the comparative form. If it's possible, use 'er'. If not, use 'more'.
1) Dogs are ______________(intelligent) than rabbits.
2) Lucy is ________________(old) than Ellie.
3) Russia is far ____________________(large) than the UK.
4) My Latin class is __________________________(boring) than my English class.
5) In the UK, the streets are generally ________________________(narrow) than in the USA.
6) London is _________________________(busy) than Glasgow.
7) Julie is _______________(quiet) than her sister.
8) Amanda is __________________________(ambitious) than her classmates.
9) My garden is a lot ________________________(colourful) than this park.
10) His house is a bit __________________________(comfortable) than a hotel.

Fill in the comparative forms of the adjectives and the correct pronouns.
Example: They don't learn a lot. You learn more than them.

1. She isn't very clever. You are than .

2. He isn't very tall. You're than .

3. She isn't very old. You're than .

4. I don't work very hard. You work than .

5. He doesn't smoke very much. You smoke than .

6. I'm not a very good cook. You cook than .

7. We don't know many people. You know than .

8. They haven't got much money. You've got than .

9. I can't run very fast. You can run than .

10. I didn't get up very early. You got up than .

11. Peter doesn't have a big apartment. Yours is than .

12. Sandra isn't very friendly. You are than .

13. We are really bad football players, but you play than .

14. He doesn't read a lot of books. You read than .

15. They aren't very strong. You're than .

 Question Tags

Add a question-tag to these sentences:

1. He is late this morning, _______________________?
2. The hotel was quite good, ________________________?
3. She cooks well, _______________________?
4. You can’t tell the difference, _________________________?
5. They always sleep after lunch, __________________________?
6. You’re coming with us, _______________________?
7. Mary plays football, ________________________?
8. You didn’t have any lessons this morning, _______________________?
9. Ann is on holiday, ______________________?
10. The students see it everyday, ________________________?
11. Mr Priestley doesn’t know your father, ______________________?
12. There are lots of cars here, ______________________?
13. I am not disturbing you, _____________________?
14. Tom does his work very well, ________________________?
15. This isn’t very pleasant, _____________________?
16. She likes quiet places, ______________________?
17. Tom doesn’t play the piano, _______________________?
18. They didn’t hurt the child, _______________________?
19. There were two car accidents yesterday, _______________________?
20. Tourists used to come here, ________________________?
21. You haven’t got a computer, ________________________?
22. You don’t have to follow him, ________________________?
23. He has to fill a form, ________________________?
24. He didn’t have to choose one, _______________________?
25. He has your ticket, _______________________?
26. Everything is all right, _______________________?
27. He has got to leave, ______________________?
28. Smoking ruins our health, ________________________?
29. Most people cannot go to Africa, ________________________?
30. Finding a job isn’t easy, _______________________?
Read the texts and answer the questions. Mark the correct response.

21st Century
One of the most significant changes of the last century is the fast and huge progress in the area of Technology and
Information. Communication has suffered a dramatic change, and distances are no longer a barrier joining the world in
one big net called The Internet. Now we can talk to people who are on the other side of the world in just seconds and
have a conversation face to face without traveling long distances.
On the other hand, if you want to travel, now there are incredibly fast planes, ships and trains that make visiting new
places much easier and comfortable. Currently, tourism has an important role for many economies of the world but,
unfortunately, it also brings pollution and erosion to great ancient buildings.
We can see the rapid changes in technology even in our homes. People use all kinds of modern appliances like washing
machines, microwave ovens, dishwashers, blenders, hair driers, etc. Which make our lives simpler, but at the same time it
makes us dependent on technology itself. So what do you think? Is the progress of the last century mainly a good or a
bad thing?

26. What is the main idea of the text?

a. Changes in the environment. b. Changes in technology in the last century.
c. New technology to travel. d. New technology to communicate.

27. How do people travel these days?

a. They travel slower than before. b. They travel faster than before.
c. They travel the same time. d. They travel so slow.
28. Do tourists play an important role in economy these days?
a. No, they don’t. b. Yes, they do. c. Sometimes d. Never
29. What is one of the negative aspects of tourism?
a. The cost of hotels. b. The trash. c. It also brings pollution and erosion to great ancient buildings. d. Noise.
30. What are the advantages of technology at home?
a. The time. b. The free time for people. c. People work less time. d. People use all kinds of modern appliances.