Guia de Introduccion Ingles

WRITING WORKSHOP 1
PARTS OF SPEECH – Categorías Gramaticales

A. INTRODUCTION
Writing is an essential skill in any language; it is just as important as any other basic skill like speaking, reading or listening. In today’s modern
world writing is present in different contexts of our life (work, friends, family, studies), and for this simple reason we need to communicate
properly in written form as well.
La escritura es una habilidad esencial en cualquier idioma, tan importante como cualquier otra habilidad básica como hablar, leer o
escuchar. En el mundo moderno actual la escritura está presente en diferentes contextos de nuestras vidas (trabajo, amigos, familia
estudios), Y por esta simple razón debemos comunicarnos apropiadamente de forma escrita también.
When we start writing in English we make some typical mistakes that lead us to frustration. For example, we try to write in the same way as
we write in our native language, so we use similar structures and we constantly use the dictionary to translate word by word literally. In
addition, we tend to ignore that we don’t have the appropriate language proficiency and the linguistics tools to write long texts and long
sentences. All these problems make us write a lot of sentences full of incorrect structures and wrong words; moreover it takes ages to write
those texts. For all these reasons, it is essential to go step by step to construct good texts, but be sure that if you are patient enough and
follow a clear course of action, you will be able to create a good and appropriate text from beginning levels; and that is the goal of these
series of workshops. 
Cuando comenzamos a escribir en ingles cometemos algunos errores típicos que nos llevan a la frustración. Por ejemplo, tratamos de
escribir de la misma manera en que lo hacemos en nuestra lengua nativa, así que usamos estructuras similares y constantemente
utilizamos el diccionario para traducir palabra por palabra de manera literal. Además, tendemos a ignorar que no tenemos el nivel de
idioma necesario ni las herramientas lingüísticas para escribir textos largos o siquiera oraciones largas. Todos estas prácticas nos llevan a
escribir muchas oraciones llenas de estructuras y palabras incorrectas, además que nos toma mucho tiempo escribir de esta manera. Por
todas estas razones, es esencial ir paso a paso para construir buenos textos, pero debe estar seguro que si es lo suficientemente
paciente y sigue juiciosamente un curso de acción claro como el que sugeriremos aquí, podrá crear buenos y apropiados textos desde
niveles principiantes, siendo este el objetivo de estos talleres.
B. PARTS OF SPEECH
In order to write appropriate texts in English we must take into account the different components that make up a text itself. In that sense,
we must begin with words; then, we move to sentences; after that, we follow up with paragraphs; and finally, we deal with complete texts
like essays, and in higher levels articles and books. From this starting conception, we must be aware of the fact that English, contrary to
Spanish, is NOT a very flexible language, so it is a very structural language instead. This means that each word or “part of speech” (e.g.
subject, verb, complement, noun, adjective, etc.) tends to be in the same position in a sentence. This also means that if you remove, omit
or change the order of any part of speech from a sentence, you will probably have a serious inconvenience with structure and even meaning.
Con el fin de escribir textos apropiados en inglés debemos tener en cuenta los diferentes elementos que componen un texto. En ese sentido,
debemos comenzar con palabras, luego pasamos a oraciones, después avanzamos a párrafos, y finalmente trabajamos con textos completos
como ensayos, artículos y en niveles más altos libros. De esta concepción inicial debemos tener muy claro que el inglés, contrario al español,
NO es un idioma muy flexible, es más bien un idioma bastante estructural. Esto quiere decir que cada palabra o cada “categoría gramatical”
(por ejemplo: sujeto, verbo, complemento, sustantivo, adjetivo, etc.) tiende a estar siempre en una misma posición dentro de una oración.
Esto también significa que si usted quita, omite o cambia el orden de una palabra en una oración, probablemente tendrá un serio
inconveniente con la estructura e incluso el significado de su oración.
The most common parts of speech are:
Las categorías gramaticales más comunes son:

1. NOUNS = Sustantivos
 A noun is a part of speech typically denoting a person, place, thing, animal, or idea. Check the examples of nouns in the highlighted
words in the following list:
Un sustantivo es una categoría gramatical que típicamente hace referencia a una persona, lugar, cosa, animal o idea. Mire los
ejemplos de sustantivos en las palabras resaltadas en la lista a continuación.
The doctor Their company

Paul A lion
Colombia The students
Our budget John and Linda
That classroom Bees
Her house This music
Intelligence The crops
The building Sound
Those chairs Many rivers
His children An advertisement
 Word endings are a useful way to identify different parts of speech. Some typical word endings for NOUNS are:
Las terminaciones de las palabras son una manera útil de identificar categorías gramaticales. Algunas terminaciones típicas de
SUSTANTIVOS son:
PERSON THING - IDEA - CONCEPTION
______nce: performance, patience,

insurance, confidence.
______ism: pragmatism, regionalism,

______er: teacher, pensioner, atheism, anarchism.
manager, explorer, abolisher.
______ness: tiredness, impoliteness,
______or: doctor, visitor, editor, kindness, fitness.
evaluator, gladiator, motivator.
______logy: physiology, psychology,
______ist: dentist, scientist, chemist, anthropology.
antagonist, bicyclist.
______ion: religion, attention,
______ian: physician, technician, caution, intermission, fusion.
magician, custodian, guardian.
______ty: responsibility, ability,
mobility, creditability, agility.
______ment: management,
treatment, agreement, ointment.
2. DETERMINERS = Determinantes
As you could see nouns can be accompanied by some short words that are known as “determiners”. Some determiners are:
Como puede ver los sustantivos pueden venir acompañados de algunas pequeñas palabras conocidas como determinantes. Algunos
determinantes son::
Articles (a, an, the)

Artículos
- A car
- An engineer
- The dogs
- The house
Possessive adjectives (my, your, his, her, its, our, their)

Adjetivos posesivos
- My friend(s)
- Your book(s)
- Her cat(s)
- Their grape(s)
Demonstratives (this, that, these, those)

Demostrativos
- This city
- These coins
- That pencil
- Those students
Modifiers (much, many, some, a few, a little, a lot of, most of, part of, half of)
Modificadores
- Much sugar
- Many apples
- A few chairs
- A little soda
3. PRONOUNS= Pronombres
Pronouns are short words that replace nouns in a phrase or sentence. There are different kinds of them such as: subject pronouns, object
pronouns, possessive pronouns and reflexive pronouns. Even though they are quite similar in appearance and general function, they have
very important differences that we must keep in mind. For the moment, in this course we are going to focus first on subject pronouns.
Los pronombres son pequeñas palabras que reemplazan sustantivos en una frase u oración. Hay diferentes clases de ellos como: pronombres
personales, pronombres de objeto, pronombres posesivos y pronombres reflexivos. Aunque todos son muy similares en apariencia y función
general, tienen importantes diferencias que debemos tener en cuenta. Por el momento, en este curso vamos a enfocarnos en los pronombres
personales
Subject Pronouns Object Pronouns Possessive Pronouns Reflexive Pronouns
I me mine myself
you you yours yourself
he him his Himself
she her hers Herself
It it - Itself
we us ours Ourselves
you you yours Yourselves
they them theirs Themselves
Let’s see the following examples:
Veamos los siguientes ejemplos:
1. My son is an excellent student. He obtained the best results in the exams.

(“He” replaces the noun “my son”)
2. That dog is very angry. It bit a child last week.

(“It” replaces the noun “that dog”)
3. Juan and Valentina will work at a multinational company. They must travel to Europe constantly.
(“They” replaces the nouna “my Juan and Valentina”)
4. VERBS = Verbos
A verb is a part of speech that usually denotes an action (e.g. jump, dance, swim), a state of being (e.g. exist, become, feel) or an occurrence
(e.g. happen). Check the examples of verbs in the highlighted words in the following sentences:
Un verbo es una categoría gramatical que usualmente hace referencia a una acción (ejm: saltar, bailar, nadar), un estado del ser (ejm: existir,
convertirse, sentir), o a la ejecución de un evento (ocurrir, suceder). Observe los ejemplos de verbos en las palabras reslatadas en las
siguientes oraciones.
AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE
1. Mary dances very well Mary doesn’t dance very well

2. Her son will become a doctor soon. Her son won’t become a doctor soon.
3. An accident happened last night near the airport. An accident didn’t happen last night near the airport.
4. They bought a new summer house in Malta. They didn’t buy a new summer house in Malta.
5. John and Martha have won many competitions. John and Martha haven’t won many competitions.
6. Management requires very special skills. Management doesn’t require very special skills.
7. We are learning many things in this course. We aren’t learning many things in this course.
8. Close the door, please! Don’t close the door, please!
5. As you can see, verbs are used in different tenses: present (1, 6, 7), past (3, 4), future (2), and in different forms: simple (1, 2, 3, 4),
continuous (6), perfect (5), imperative (8).
Como puede ver, los verbos son utilizados en diferentes tiempos: presentes (1,6, 7), pasados (3,4), futuros (2); y en diferentes formas:
simples (1, 2, 3, 4), continuas (6), perfectas (5), imperativas (8).
6. Except from the Imperative Form (8), in affirmative and negative sentences ALL verbs go after a noun (e.g. dances goes after “Mary”;
happened goes after “an accident”, will become goes after “her son”, requires goes after “management”), or a subject pronoun (“I,
you, he, she, it, we, they” go before in affirmative or negative sentences).
Excepto a la forma imperativa (8), en oraciones afirmativas y negativas TODOS los verbos van después de un sustantivo( e.g. dances
va después de “Mary”; happened va después de “an accident”, will become va después de “her son”, requires va después de
“management”), o de los pronombres personales (“I, you, he, she, it, we, they” van antes de los verbos en afirmativo o negativo).
7. Word endings are a useful way to identify different parts of speech and, in the same way as nouns, some verbs can be identified for
their endings. Some typical word endings for VERBS are:
Las terminaciones de las palabras son una manera útil de identificar categorías gramaticales, y de la misma manera que los
sustantivos, algunos verbos pueden ser identificados como tal por sus finalizaciones. Algunas terminaciones típicas de VERBOS son:
____ate : eliminate, contemplate, create, facilitate, eradicate.

____ize : realize, prioritize, digitalize, mechanize, metalize.
____yze: analyze, electrolyze, paralyze, catalyze.
____ify : clarify, unify, purify, specify, vivify, verify, testify.
____ise : disguise, despise, improvise, exercise, supervise.
CONCEPT OF A BASIC SENTENCE.

CONCEPTO DE UNA ORACIÓN BÁSICA
With the topics we have covered this far, we can now understand the most important concept of English language grammar, the concept of
SENTENCE. ALL BASI SENTENCES IN ENGLISH ARE FORMED BY THE FOLLOWING ELEMENTS:
GOLDEN RULES TO KEEP IN MIND!
The core of all subjects in English can only be a NOUN or SUBJECT PRONOUN
El núcleo (palabra principal) de todos los sujetos en inglés puede ser sólo un SUSTANTIVO o un PRONOMBRE PERSONAL
The order of these two components of a sentence (SUBJECT + VERB) is unmodifiable in affirmative and negative sentences the English language.
El orden de estos dos elementos (SUJETO + VERBO) es inmodificable en oraciones afirmativas y negativas del idioma inglés.
There is NO TACIT SUBJECT in the English language

NO HAY SUJETO TÁCITO en el idioma inglés
EXERCISE 1
In the following paragraph you are going to identify with a color convention the different parts of speech studied so far. The convention is:
En el siguiente párrafo vas a identificar con una convención de colores las diferentes categorías gramaticales. La convención es:
Nouns (Only the ones that work as subjects of the sentence – Sólo aquellos que funcionan como sujeto de las oraciones)
Subject pronouns
Verbs
Other nouns (The ones that complement the sentences. They don’t work as subjects – Aquellos que complementan las oraciones. No funcionan como sujetos)
Determiners (Articles – Possessive adjectives – Demonstratives – Modifiers)
Example: My father is an accountant. He works for a Colombian transportation company. This company is located in Bogotá, Colombia.
Nairo Quintana
Nairo Alexander Quintana is a Colombian racing cyclist. He rides for the Movistar Team. He is nicknamed "Nairoman" and "El Cóndor de los Andes". Quintana
is a specialist climber, and he is famous for his ability to launch sustained attacks on ascents of steep gradient. His best career results are winning the 2014
“Giro d'Italia” and 2016 “Vuelta a España”. He obtained a 2nd place overall in the Tour de France of 2013 and 2015. He is considered as one of the most
successful road cyclists of the recent era, and the best in Colombian history.
He was born in Cómbita, a town near the city of Tunja in Colombia. Quintana comes from a humble background. His parents' names are Luis Quintana and
Eloisa Rojas. They saved up to buy Quintana a second-hand mountain bike to make the 16-km journey from their farm to school. Ha also used it to travel
from village to village to sell fruit and vegetables. At the age of 15, he was hit by a taxi whilst riding, so he was in a coma for five days. Despite this, his father
recognized Nairo's potential, and he spent $300,000 Colombian pesos (around £100) on a racing bike to see if Nairo could make a career in the sport.
Glossary:
Nicknamed: Apodado
Launch: Lanzar
Ascents of steep gradient: Ascensos de alta inclinación
Overall: Clasificación general
Second-hand: De segunda
Journey: Viaje – recorrido
Despite this: A pesar de esto
Adapted from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nairo_Quintana
Nota: Varias palabras del párrafo pertenecen a categorías gramaticales que no hemos estudiado aún. Por ende, no todas las palabras del párrafo
deben ser resaltadas.
DESIGNED BY:
Mg. Mauricio Buitrago
Universidad Santo Tomás.
Licenciatura en Lengua Extranjera Inglés.

WRITING WORKSHOP 2
SIMPLE SENTENCES AND TRANSITION EXPRESSIONS
A. INTRODUCTION
In the English language we can basically talk about three different types of sentences: Simple, Compound and Complex. In this part of our course,
we are going to start constructing solid SIMPLE SENTENCES; with solid and correct simple sentences we can write very good paragraphs using basic
structures. So, it is not necessary to be an expert writer or fully bilingual to write good paragraphs from beginning levels, and this is the goal of this
workshop. Finally, it is extremely important to understand and properly manage the elements of the WRITING WORKSHOP 1 (parts of speech) in
order to successfully reach the goals and carry out the exercises of this workshop.
En el idioma inglés podemos hablar básicamente de tres tipos de oraciones: Simples, Compuestas y Complejas. En esta parte del curso vamos a
comenzar a construir ORACIONES SIMPLES. Con oraciones simples sólidas y correctas podemos escribir muy buenos párrafos utilizando estructuras
básicas. Así que no es necesario ser un experto escritor o completamente bilingüe para escribir buenos párrafos desde niveles principiantes, y este es
el objetivo de este taller. Finalmente, es extremadamente importante entender y manejar apropiadamente los elementos del WRITING WORKSHOP
1 (parts of speech) con el fin de alcanzar las metas y desarrollar los ejercicios de este taller.
B. WHAT IS A SIMPLE SENTENCE?
A simple sentence is essentially conformed by two elements that must be in perfect agreement: a SUBJECT and a VERB. In the English language,
the subject of a sentence is usually before the verb, and in most of the occasions its main part is a noun (or a subject pronoun). But be careful, this
does not mean that all nouns are subjects of sentences; the idea is that all subjects are nouns. Let’s take a look at the examples of the following
Simple Sentences. In the following sentences you can identify subjects in green and verbs in yellow. Check the order of these colors in the sentences.
¿QUÉ ES UNA ORACIÓN SIMPLE?
Una oración simple está esencialmente conformada por dos elementos que deben estar en perfecto acuerdo: Un SUJETO y un VERBO. En el idioma
inglés, el sujeto de una oración está usualmente antes del verbo, y en la mayoría de las ocasiones su principal elemento es un sustantivo ( o un
pronombre personal). Pero cuidado, esto no significa que todos los sustantivos son sujetos de oraciones, la idea es que todos los sujetos sí son
sustantivos. En las siguientes oraciones usted puede identificar los sujetos en verde y los verbos en amarillo. Fíjese en el orden de los colores en las
oraciones.
1. My grandfather owns a small grocery store.

2. Every December, Andrea and Tom visit their cousins in Cali.
3. The boys in the park play soccer three times a week.
4. She usually travelled to Miami on holidays.
5. The new student in the class is very talkative and friendly.
6. The plane from United Airlines landed with no difficulties.
7. Accidentally gravity was discovered by Isaac Newton.
8. In my city you can visit a lot of museums and many other interesting places like restaurant zones and parks
9. The final grades of our course in English Pedagogy will appear in our system next week.
10. Cooperation between users and administrative personnel can become an essential aspect to improve Transmilenio.
Please note that:
- These ten (10) sentences only have a subject and a verb.

- Examples 8, 9 & 10 demonstrate that a simple sentence is NOT necessarily a short sentence.
- The subject is usually a noun (sentences 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9 and 10) or a subject pronoun (sentences 4 and 8).
- The subject is ALWAYS BEFORE the verb.
Fíjese en que:
- Estas diez (10) oraciones solo tienen un sujeto y un verbo.

- Los ejemplos 8, 9 y 10 demuestran que una oración simple NO es necesariamente una oración corta.
- El sujeto es usualmente un sustantivo (oraciones 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9 y 10) o un pronombre personal (oraciones 4 y 8).
- El sujeto está SIEMPRE ANTES del verbo.
- To verify the subject of your sentence, ask the question: who/what does the action of my sentence? For example:
Para verificar el sujeto de su oración, formule la pregunta: ¿quién/qué hace la acción de mi oración? Por ejemplo:
Sentence 1: Who owns a grocery store? (Answer: my grandfather)

Sentence 2: Who visits their cousins in Cali? (Answer: Andrea and Tom)
Sentence 3: Who plays soccer in the park three times a week? (Answer: the boys)
Sentence 4: Who usually travelled to Miami on holidays? (Answer: she)
Sentence 5: Who is very talkative and friendly? (Answer: the new student)
Sentence 6: What landed with no difficulties? (Answer: the plane)
Sentence 7: What was discovered by Isaac Newton? (Answer: gravity)
Sentence 8: Who can visit a lot of museums? (Answer: you)
Sentence 9: What will appear in our system next week? (Answer: the final grades)
Sentence 10: What can become an essential aspect to improve Transmilenio?
- Note that in the previous questions we only asked who or what? Questions with prepositions like: for whom / about who / in
what / about what / for what DO NOT CORRESPOND TO THE SUBJECT OF A SENTENCE, they refer to objects that work like
complements.
- Note que en las preguntas anteriores sólo preguntamos ¿quién o qué? Preguntas con preposiciones como: ¿para quién? / ¿sobre
quién? / ¿en qué? / ¿acerca de qué? / ¿para qué? NO CORRESPONDEN AL SUJETO DE UNA ORACIÓN, ellas harán referencia a
objetos que funcionan como complementos.
- Now check the following set of incorrect sentences. They look apparently normal due to their similarity in structure to the
Spanish language. However, they have some problems. Let’s analyze them. We keep identifying subjects in green and verbs
in yellow:
- Ahora revise el siguiente grupo de oraciones incorrectas. Ellas aparentemente lucen normales debido a su semejanza en
estructura con el idioma español. Sin embargo, ellas tienen algunos problemas. Analicémoslas. Seguimos identificando
sujetos en verde y verbos en amarillo.
1. This morning ate eggs and bread for breakfast.

2. In my city can practice different extreme sports.
3. Is necessary to implement new security policies in our offices.
4. At the National Museum work more than 150 people every day.
5. Among students of this university exist very serious discrepancies.
- Now check them identifying Subjects and Verbs. Do you see anything unusual in the pattern?
- Ahora analícelas identificando Sujetos y Verbos. ¿Ve algo inusual en el patrón?

5. Among students of this university exist very serious discrepancies.
What are the problems with these sentences? Let’s see the following chart and the possible different ways to correct each sentence.
SENTENCE AND PROBLEM POSSIBLE CORRECTIONS

a. This morning we ate eggs and bread for breakfast.
NO SUBJECT. Who ate eggs and bread for breakfast? b. This morning Francisco ate eggs and bread for breakfast.
NO HAY SUJETO. ¿Quién comió huevos y pan al desayuno?

a. In my city, young people can practice different extreme sports.
NO SUBJECT. Who can practice different extreme sports? b. In my city, everybody can practice different extreme sports.
Oración 2= NO HAY SUJETO. ¿Quién puede practicar diferentes deportes c. In my city, you can practice different extreme sports
extremos?

a. It is necessary to bring a dictionary to his French class.
NO SUBJECT. Which word works as the subject of the verb “is”? Este es un típico caso en el que el pronombre “it” no tiene ningún
significado o traducción, simplemente se utiliza para cumplir con la
Oración 2= NO HAY SUJETO. ¿Qué palabra funge como sujeto del verbo norma de que toda oración en inglés requiere un sujeto, incluso en
“is”? verbos impersonales como este.
a. More than 150 people work at the National Museum every day.
WORD ORDER. The subject is ALWAYS BEFORE the verb. In addition, b. At the National Museum more than 150 people work every day.
“the National Museum” is NOT the subject because it is preceded by the
preposition “at”. Who works at the Museum?
Importante fijarse en el orden de los colores (los elementos) Primero
Oración 4= ORDEN DE LAS PALABRAS. El sujeto está SIEMPRE ANTES el sujeto (verde), luego el verbo (amarillo).
del verbo. Además, “The National Museum” NO es el sujeto porque viene
precedido de la preposición “at”. Por último, formule la pregunta: ¿Quién
trabaja en el museo? = 150 personas
5. Among students of this university exist very serious

a. Very serious discrepancies exist among students of this
discrepancies.
university.
WORD ORDER. The subject is ALWAYS BEFORE the verb. In addition,
“students” is NOT the subject because it is preceded by the preposition Importante fijarse en el orden de los colores (los elementos) Primero
“among”. What exists among students? el sujeto (verde), luego el verbo (amarillo).
Oración 5= ORDEN DE LAS PALABRAS. El sujeto está SIEMPRE ANTES

del verbo. Además, la palabra “students” NO es el sujeto porque viene
precedida de la preposición “among”. Por último, formule la pregunta:
¿Qué existe entre los estudiantes?= Serias discrepancias
So remember!
- The subject is ALWAYS BEFORE the verb.

- A noun preceded by a preposition CAN NEVER BE the subject of a sentence.
- ALL YOUR SENTENCES IN ENGLISH NEED A SUBJECT AND A VERB (except in the Imperative form).
- There are NO TACIT SUBEJCTS in the English language
¡Así que recuerde!
- El sujeto está SIEMPRE ANTES del verbo.

- Un sustantivo precedido por una preposición NUNCA PUEDE SER el sujeto de una oración.
- TODAS SUS ORACIONES EN INGLÉS NECESITAN UN SUJETO Y UN VERBO (visibles), excepto en el modo imperativo.
- EN INGLÉS NO HAY SUJETOS TÁCITOS CÓMO: (jugamos mañana = We play tomorrow // son muy lindas = They are very pretty).
Now, it’s time to do a simple exercise!
Es el momento de hacer un sencillo ejercicio
EXERCISE 1
Analyze the following simple sentences and decide whether they are CORRECT (C) or INCORRECT (I). Please correct the incorrect sentences. 
Analice las siguientes oraciones simples y decida si son CORRECTAS (C) o INCORRECTAS (I). Por favor corrija las incorrectas. 
Examples:
a. My mother always cooks ajiaco for my birthday. C .

b. Next year will travel to new destinations in far countries. I .
Possible correction: Next year, we will travel to new destinations in far countries.
1- Recently has rained very much in our city. ______
2- Our principal is considering a strategic alliance with an Italian university. ______
3- Of all the courses in the program, quantum physics is the most difficult. ______
4- The HHRR department has designed a series of activities to improve the worker’s mood during working hours. ______
5- Next year will be opened a new branch of our University in Africa. ______
6- A simple password is required to turn on the computers of the teachers’ lounge. ______
7- The most important documents are filed in the locked cabinet. ______
8- Our systems staff development a new registration software. ______
9- In November starts the new environmental project developed by the Ecology committee. ______
10- With all the necessary tools can complete the task in no more than 2 weeks. ______
11- The company manager is considering a serious layoff policy to improve the finances of the company. ______
12- We must grade all of the exams immediately. ______
13- Amanda did not continuation the course due to her multiple responsibilities with the new research project. ______
14- The day of the Colombian national team match, many students and teachers called in sick. ______
15- The accreditation documents for the Ministry of Education were uploaded yesterday morning. ______
C. TRANSITION EXPRESSIONS
TRANSITION EXPRESSIONS help the reader to follow the author’s immediate intentions and line of thought as he moves from one idea to the
next. In some way, they announce the reader what kind of information is contained (or follows) in the next sentence. Using TRANSITION
EXPRESSIONS diminishes the reader’s frustrations by making the text more compact, coherent and interesting. This reflects on the writer’s
credibility.
EXPRESIONES DE TRANSICIÓN
LAS EXPRESIONES DE TRANSICIÓN ayudan al lector a seguir las intenciones inmediatas del escritor en relación con el tipo de información que se
va a incluir en el párrafo a partir de dicha expresión. Utilizar EXPRESIONES DE TRANSICIÓN disminuye los riesgos a las frustraciones del lector
haciendo el texto más compacto, coherente e interesante. Esto se refleja en la credibilidad que el texto despierta en quien lo lee.
The table below presents the most commonly used TRANSITION EXPRESSIONS in the English Language:
La siguiente tabla presenta las EXPRESIONES DE TRANSICIÓN que se usan más comúnmente en la lengua inglesa
INTENTION INTENTION
TRANSITION FOLLOW UP INFORMATION TRANSITION FOLLOW UP INFORMATION
In addition Additional information follows: The next For example Example: A specific example follows.
Additionally sentence will provide information that For instance
Besides supports the previous idea. However Opposite or contrast: The next sentence
Moreover On the other hand will provide information that is opposite
For this reason Cause & effect: The next sentence will On the contrary or contrasting to what was just
As a consequence provide information that explains the Nevertheless mentioned in the previous idea.
Therefore effect of what was just mentioned Nonetheless
Thus before. Finally Concluding or summarizing: The next
Consequently On the whole sentence(s) will either summarize all the
First – Initially – To begin Sequence: They provide a logical order to Summarizing information mentioned before, or it will
then, later, next, after that the text when the information describes In conclusion provide a conclusion to finish with the
Finally a process or a sequence. To summarize text.
In fact Emphasis: The next sentence will provide To conclude
Indeed deeper emphasis in relation to the In other words Explanation: The next sentence(s) will
Truly previous idea. That is explain what was just mentioned before.
Likewise Similarity: The next ideas will express a Interestingly Adverbs “___ ly”: They are a way for the
In the same way similar situation or process in relation to Surprisingly author to express his feelings about the
Similarly the previous ideas. Luckily text itself.
TRANSITION EXPRESSIONS express and connect ideas, but THEY ARE NOT CONNECTORS. TRANSITION EXPRESSIONS have a very different
punctuation pattern in comparison with CONNECTORS (we will study them in our WRITING WORKSHOP 3). Please check the following examples
on how punctuation is important when we use TRANSITION EXPRESSIONS:
Las EXPRESIONES DE TRANSICIÓN expresan y conectan ideas, pero NO SON CONECTORES. Las EXPRESIONES DE TRANSICIÓN tienen un patrón
de puntuación muy diferente en comparación con los CONECTORES (que serán estudiados en el WORKSHOP 3). Por favor revise los siguientes
ejemplos para observar cómo funciona y qué tan importante es la puntuación cuando usamos EXPRESIONES DE TRANSICIÓN.
a. My father is very generous. In fact, he helps more than three different charity projects.
b. First, I take a shower in my beautiful bathroom. Then, I have a big breakfast in a bakery next to my house.
After that, I drive to work…
c. As a conclusion, all attendants to the workshop were very satisfied with it.
d. Our boss is a great leader; in addition, she is a very sensitive person.
e. Surprisingly, our budget for the project was fully accepted by the investment committee.
f. Some students had great results in the final exam; in contrast, some others had very low scores.
g. We hired a new exporter for our products. For this reason, we are changing many documents and processes
these days.
IMPORTANT PUNCTUATION PATTERNS:
- As you can see there is a comma (,) right after each TRANSITION EXPRESSION. (All sentences)
- TRANSITION EXPRESSIONS are very usual beginning sentences and paragraphs (b, c, e)
- In the middle of a paragraph, or after a sentence TRANSITION EXPRESSIONS are usually after a period (.) (a, b, g) or a semicolon
(;) (d,f)
-
PATRONES IMPORTANTES DE PUNTUACIÓN:
- Como puede ver siempre hay coma (,) justo después de cada EXPRESIÓN DE TRANSICIÓN. (Todas las oraciones)
- Las EXPRESIONES DE TRANSICIÓN son muy comunes comenzando las oraciones (oraciones b, c, e)
- En la mitad de un párrafo, o después de una oración, las EXPRESIONES DE TRANSICIÓN van después de un punto seguido (.)
(oraciones a, b, g) o un punto y coma (;) (oraciones d,f)
EXERCISE 2
It is essential to check on the CORPUS VOCABULARY file located in the v-room for the ideal development of this task.
Write a 5-to-7-line paragraph describing your job in your company.
1- It’s a paragraph not a list of sentences.

2- Don’t try to write as in Spanish. Use only SIMPLE SENTENCES in your paragraph.
3- Check the structure of your sentences by identifying SUBJECTS and VERBS with a color convention as in the examples provided.
4- Use PUNCTUATION AND TRANSITION EXPRESSIONS to connect the ideas and sentences in your paragraph. (Three transition expressions
AT LEAST)
Es esencial revisar el archivo CORPUS VOCABULARY ubicado en el aula virtual para el desarrollo ideal de este trabajo.
Escriba un párrafo de 5 a 7 líneas describiendo sus labores en su empresa.
1- Es un párrafo no una lista de oraciones.

2- No trate de escribir como en español. Use sólo ORACIONES SIMPLES en su párrafo.
3- Revise la estructura de sus oraciones identificando SUJETOS y VERBOS con convención de colores como en los ejemplos dados en el taller.
4- Utilice PUNTUACIÓN Y EXPRESIONES DE TRANSICIÓN para conectar las ideas en su párrafo. (Al menos tres expresiones de transición)
A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF MY JOB

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© DESIGNED BY:
Universidad Santo Tomás

WRITING WORKSHOP 3
OTHER PARTS OF SPEECH
In this chapter we are going to continue revising other important parts of speech in the English language.
En este capítulo continuaremos revisando otras importantes categorías gramaticales del idioma inglés
5. ADJECTIVES (Adjetivos)
An adjective is a part of speech in charge of describing nouns and subject pronouns. An adjective gives a positive or negative quality to the
corresponding noun -or subject pronoun- it describes. Let’s take a look at the following examples of adjectives in the highlighted words of the
sentences in the chart below.
Un adjetivo es una categoría gramatical que se encarga de describir sustantivos y pronombres personales. Un adjetivo le asigna una cualidad positiva
o negativa al correspondiente sustantivo – o pronombre personal- que describe. Miremos la siguiente lista de ejemplos de adjetivos en las palabras
resaltadas en el siguiente cuadro.
1. My brother’s car is very old.

2. Joe has a beautiful dog.
3. That movie was simply fantastic.
4. Today we discussed a very serious topic.
5. She seems so excited about her trip.
6. Our new house cost US$235.000.
As you can see in the previous sentences, the underlined words are the nouns - or subject pronouns- each adjective describes. Remember that
adjectives in English are never pluralized.
Como pudo observar en las oraciones anteriores, las palabras subrayadas son los sustantivos –o pronombres personales- que cada adjetivo describe.
Recuerde que los adjetivos en inglés nunca se pluralizan.
- In (1) old describes car

- In (2) beautiful describes dog
- In (3) fantastic describes movie
- In (4) serious describes topic
- In (5) excited describes she
- In (6) new describes house
In examples (1), (3) and (5) the way adjectives are used is very similar to Spanish in terms of word order. There is a distance between the noun (or
subject pronoun) and the adjective. That is, they are separated by a verb and some modifiers (e.g. My brother’s car is very old, the movie was
simply fantastic, she seems so excited)
En los ejemplos (1), (3) y (5) la manera en que los adjetivos son utilizados es muy similar a la del español en términos del orden de las palabras. Hay
una distancia entre el sustantivo (o el pronombre personal) y el adjetivo. Es decir, están separados por un verbo y algunos modificadores (Ejm: My
brother’s car is very old, the movie was simply fantastic, she seems so excited).
However, in sentences (2), (4) and (6), it is very important to analyze the word order because it is a rule in English. In these cases, you can see that
the adjective and the verb are together; they are not separated by any other word (e.g. “beautiful dog”, “serious topic” and “new house”). As you
can see in these examples, THE ADJECTIVE IS ALWAYS BEFORE THE NOUN. Some other examples can be:
Sin embargo, en las oraciones (2), (4) y (6) es muy importante analizar el orden de las palabras porque es una regla característica del inglés. En
estos casos, puede ver que el adjetivo y el verbo están juntos; ellos no están separados por ninguna palabra (Ejm: “beautiful dog”, “serious topic”
and “new house”). Como puede ver en estos ejemplos, EL ADJETIVO ESTÁ SIEMPRE ANTES DEL VERBO. Algunos otros ejemplos pueden ser:
- blue sweater
- happy weekend
- relaxed pronunciation
- strong player
- dangerous country
This is a very typical feature of the English language. We must be very careful because it is quite different from Spanish, and we tend
to make many mistakes with this word order.
Esta es una característica muy típica del idioma inglés. Debemos ser muy cuidadosos porque es muy diferente del español y tendemos
a cometer muchos errores con el orden de las palabras.
 Word endings are a useful way to identify different parts of speech and adjectives are not the exception. Some typical word endings
for ADJECTIVES are:
Las terminaciones de las palabras son una manera útil de identificar categorías gramaticales, y los adjetivos no son la excepción.
Algunas terminaciones típicas de VERBOS son:
____ful : beautiful, graceful, plentiful, powerful, awful.

____nt : brilliant, arrogant, patient, efficient, constant.
____al : economical, local, analytical, educational, illogical.
____ble : comfortable, capable, formidable, noble, available.
____ous : generous, marvelous, gorgeous, obnoxious, precious.
____ive : effective, progressive, aggressive, addictive, expensive.
6. ADVERBS (Adverbios)
An adverb is a part of speech in charge of describing verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. The big majority of adverbs in the English language
are derived from adjectives, and they use the suffix “ly” as their main feature. The following table shows this close relation between
adjectives and adverbs.
Un adverbio es una tipo de palabra encargada de describir verbos, adjetivos y otros adverbios. La gran mayoría de los adverbios en el idioma
inglés se derivan de los adjetivos, y utilizan el sugijo “ly” (“mente” en español) como su principal característica. La siguiente tabla presenta
esta relación entre adjetivos y adevrbios.
Adjective Adverb
Logical Logically
Beautiful Beautifully
Precious Preciously
Happy Happily
Sad Sadly
Bad Badly
Patient Patiently
 Examples of adverbs describing verbs:
Sentence Explanation
John speaks Italian fluently. “Fluently” describes the way he speaks.
My brother drives very carefully. “Carefully” describes the way he drives.
Her sister generously helped me with the task. “Generously” describes the way she helped.
 Examples of adverbs describing adjectives:
The situation in Venezuela is extremely serious “Extremely” affects the adjective serious.
Sheila wrote a really beautiful poem to her
“Really” affects the adjective beautiful.
husband.
We had a terribly long day at work. “Terribly” affects the adjective long.
 Examples of adverbs describing other adverbs:
Paul behaved incredibly badly at the party. “Incredibly” modifies the adverb badly.
They spoke about the problem really seriously. “Really” modifies the adverb seriously.
The team played beautifully well. “Beautifully” modifies the adverb well.
NOTE: This shows that you can create an adverb just by taking any adjective and adding the suffix “ly”. There are just a few exceptions in
which the adverbs are formed in a different way. The following table presents the most remarkable exceptions.
NOTA: Esto demuestra que usted puede crear un adverbio solo tomando cualquier adejtivo y agregando el sufijo “ly” (“mente”). Hay algunas
excepciones en las que los adverbios se forman de manera diferente. La siguiente tabla presenta las excepciones más conocidas.
Adjective Adverb Observations
Good Well The word “goodly” is an adjective that means

“considerable”
Fast Fast The word “fastly*” does not exist in the English
language.
Hard Hard The word “hardly” is a different adverb that means
“scarcely”.
EXERCISE 1: Adverbs and Adjectives at the Circus

Directions: read each sentence and determine whether the adverb or adjective should be used.
Example:
The students were very quiet / quietly when they entered the circus tent.
What part of speech is that? Adjective .
1. The ring at the center of the tent was colorful / colorfully decorated.
What part of speech is that? _______________
2. We were all very eager / eagerly to see what the circus had in store for us.
3. A woman in an all silk gown with dragon patterns on it was singing beautiful / beautifully.
4. As the show began, the mood in the auditorium was joyous / joyously.
5. My friend started laughing quite loud / loudly when the clowns came out in their little car.

6. I could barely hear the ringmaster over the crowd because they were so noisy / noisily.
7. The man with the popcorn sloppy / sloppily applied butter and seasoning to his treat.
8. The trapeze artists performed fantastic / fantastically even though there was a safety net.
9. I became very irate / irately when the man with the Abraham Lincoln hat sat in front of me.
10. I jealous / jealously watched as a young girl was chosen to come on stage with the magician.
11. It was hysterical / hysterically when the clowns came back during the ringmaster’s speech.
12. Perhaps the most astonishing was how all of my money magical / magically disappeared.
13. My teacher truculent / truculently inquired about the treatment of the circus animals.
14. The show went by extreme / extremely quickly and then it was time to leave.
7. POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES – PREPOSITIONS (Adjetivos posesivos y preposiciones)

SUBJECT PRONOUNS POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES PREPOSITIONS
I My about down out of

You Your above during outside
He His across except over
She Her after for past
It Its against from since
We Our along in through
You Your among in front of to
They Their around inside toward
at instead of under
Yo Mi – mis before into underneath
Tú – usted Su –sus // Tu – tus behind like* until
El Su – sus (de él) below near up
Ella Su – sus (de ella) beneath of upon
It* Su – sus (objeto o animal) beside off with
Nosotros - Nosotras Nuestro (a) - nuestros (as) between on within
Ustedes Su – sus (de ustedes) by onto without
Ellos - Ellas Su – sus (de ellos-ellas) on top of
It = No tiene traducción Diferente al español cada

reemplaza una cosa o persona tiene su posesivo. Si
animal en singular. digo por ejemplo “vi a Pedro
con su novia”, en español no
queda claro si es la novia de
Pedro o de la persona con
quien estoy hablando. Esto
se evita en el inglés con
estos adjetivos posesivos.
A subject pronoun is a short A possessive adjective is a A preposition is a word that relates a noun or pronoun to another noun in a
word that replaces a noun. It word that modifies a noun sentence. They can indicate time, position or place:
is usually before a verb, and by attributing possession to
they are used as subjects of someone or something. They
sentences: are always before the noun:
The dog sat under the tree.
I study at USTA. My car is blue.
The next exam will be within three weeks.
She never arrives late. She went to her apartment.
Our new neighbor lives across our house.
Last weekend we met Paul. Our patience will finish soon.
You didn’t wait until the end of the class.
They don’t drink coffee. Paul is visiting his girlfriend.
My girlfriend left before lunch time.
Un pronombre personal es Un adjetivo posesivo es una

Una preposición una palabra que relaciona un sustantivo o un pronombre con
una pequeña palabra que palabra que modifica a un
otro sustantivo en una oración. Ellos indican tiempo, posición o lugar.
reemplaza a un sustantivo. sustantivo atribuyéndole la
Usualmente se encuentra posesión de alguien o de
antes de un verbo y son algo. Siempre van antes de
utilizadas como sujetos de un sustantivo
las oraciones.
EXERCISE 2: “WOMAN LIES ABOUT WINNING THE LOTTERY”

You are going to read a short narration called “WOMAN LIES ABOUT WINNING THE LOTTERY”. Your task is to identify the parts of speech we just
checked in section D (subject pronouns, possessive adjectives and prepositions). To do this, you are going to highlight the parts of speech with
different colors as follows: subject pronouns possessive adjectives and prepositions
Va leer una pequeña narración llamada “WOMAN LIES ABOUT WINNING THE LOTTERY”. Su tarea es identificar las categorías gramaticales que
acabamos de estudiar en la sección D. (subject pronouns, possessive adjectives and prepositions). Para hacer esto usted va a resaltar las categorías
gramaticales con diferentes colores, de la siguiente manera: subject pronouns, possessive adjectives y prepositions
WOMAN LIES ABOUT WINNING THE LOTTERY
A 39-year-old woman admitted that she had lied. She claimed that she bought the latest winning
lottery ticket in Massachusetts, but then lost it. The ticket was worth $18 million after all deductions.
Jean Fenn was charged with grand larceny. A conviction could put her in prison for up to seven years.
The real winner of the ticket, Kevin Hayes, 66, presented the ticket a week ago to the liquor store
where he had bought it. That store will receive one percent of the prize, or $180,000. The owner of
the store, Mark Abrams, 56, was overjoyed. “Last year we had a storm that blew half of our roof off. It
cost $25,000 to put a new roof on.”
Hayes said that he was reminded to check his numbers when he heard that a woman had lost her
winning ticket. He and his wife had been camping in the mountains when the winning number was drawn. They thought their ticket was not the
winning one.
“But I feel sorry for this woman," said Hayes. "She only did this out of desperation. In fact, I'm going to help her out financially after she gets out of
prison. It’s a shame that this wealthy country has so many poor people. So, I’m going to donate a lot of this money to different charities. What do I
need $18 million for?”
The checks to Hayes and Abrams should arrive within two weeks, according to a lottery spokesman. He mentioned that lottery players should
remember that the odds of winning the lottery are only about one in forty million. Even so, most people think that SOMEONE has to win, and it
might as well be them.
© DESIGNED BY:

WRITING WORKSHOP 4
CONNECTORS AND COMPUND SENTENCES
I. INTRODUCTION
Remember, in the English language we can basically talk about three different types of sentences: Simple, Compound and Complex. As in the last
writing workshop we dealt with Simple Sentences, in this part of our course we are going to start constructing solid COMPOUND SENTENCES. A
compound sentence is essentially made up of two simple sentences linked by a CONNECTOR. In that sense, in order to write correct compound
sentences it is necessary to study CONNECTORS and their punctuation patterns. With solid and correct Simple and Compound sentences (which
include proper use of transitions and connectors) we can write very well organized and more coherent paragraphs. So, it is not necessary to be an
expert writer or fully bilingual to write good paragraphs from beginning levels, and this is the goal of this workshop. Finally, it is extremely important
to understand and properly manage the elements of WRITING WORKSHOPS 1 and 2 in order to successfully reach the goals and carry out the
exercises of this workshop.
Recuerden, en el idioma inglés podemos básicamente hablar de tres tipos de oraciones: Simples, Compuestas y Complejas. Ya que en el último taller
de escritura trabajos con Oraciones Simples, en esta parte del curso vamos a comenzar a construir ORACIONES COMPUESTAS sólidas. Una Oración
Compuesta consiste esencialmente en dos oraciones simples unidas por un CONECTOR. En ese sentido, con el fin de escribir Oraciones Compuestas
correctas es necesario estudiar y aprender los CONECTORES y sus patrones de puntuación. Con Oraciones Simples y Compuestas sólidas y correctas
(lo que implica el uso apropiado de transiciones y conectores) podemos escribir párrafos muy bien organizados y coherentes. Así que no es necesario
ser un experto escritor o completamente bilingüe para escribir buenos párrafos desde niveles iniciales; siendo este el objetivo del presente taller.
Finalmente, es extremadamente importante entender y manejar con suficiencia los elementos de los TALLERES DE ESCRITURA 1 y 2 con el fin de
alcanzar las metas y desarrollar los ejercicios de este taller exitosamente.
II. WHAT IS A CONNECTOR?
A connector, as its name indicates, is a word that connects two simple sentences so that we can create a compound sentence. There are different
types of connectors, and we can take a look at them in the following chart:
Un conector, como su nombre lo indica, es una palabra que conecta dos oraciones simples de manera que podemos crear así una oración compuesta.
Hay varios tipos de conectores, y podemos dar una mirada inicial a ellos en el siguiente cuadro.
CHART 1 – CUADRO 1
CONNECTORS OF TIME CONNECTORS OF CONDITION

Since =desde If = si
When = cuando Whether = si
As soon as = tan pronto como As long as = siempre y cuando
By the time = en el momento que Unless = a menos que
After = después CONNECTORS OF CAUSE
Before = antes Because = porque
Whenever = cuando sea Since = en vista que
Until = hasta As = ya que
CONNECTORS OF PLACE CONNECTORS OF CONTRAST
Where = donde While = mientras
Wherever = donde sea Whereas = mientras que
It is crucial not to confuse these connectors with transitions (writing workshop # 2). They have very different functions and different punctuation
patterns.
Es crucial no confundir estos conectores con las transiciones (taller de escritura 2). Ellos tienen funciones muy diferentes y patrones de puntuación
diferentes también.
III. COMPOUND SENTENCES
As it was mentioned above, a compound sentence is the junction of two simple sentences through a connector. There are two possible structures
to write a compound sentence. Each one of them has a concrete punctuation pattern. Let’s see:
Como se mencionó anteriormente, una oración compuesta es la unión de dos oraciones simples a través de un conector. Hay dos posibles estructuras
para escribir una oración compuesta. Cada una de ellas tiene un patrón concreto de puntuación. Veamos:
STRUCTURE 1: This is the most traditional form. As you will see, there are no commas here!
ESTRUCTURA 1: Esta es la forma más tradicional. Como podrán observar, no hay comas aquí.
SUBJECT + VERB CONNECTOR SUBJECT + VERB

=
Simple sentence CONNECTOR Simple sentence
Some examples of this structure are:
Algunos ejemplos de esta estructura son:
A. Our new boss wants to change the budget because it is very high.
(Nuestro nuevo jefe quiere cambiar el presupuesto porque es muy alto.)
B. The board of directors will not approve the project while the CEO considers it unviable
(El consejo administrativo no aprobará el proyecto mientras el Director Ejecutivo lo considere inviable.)
STRUCTURE 2: It is very important to see the position of the connector and the use of the comma in this type of sentence.
ESTRUCTURA 2: Es muy importante ver la posición del conector y el uso de la coma en este tipo de oración.
CONNECTOR SUBJECT + VERB , SUBJECT + VERB
CONNECTOR SIMPLE SENTENCE , SIMPLE SENTENCE

.
Some examples of this structure are:
Algunos ejemplos de esta estructura son:
A. Since the budget is very high, our new boss wants to change it.
(En vista que el presupuesto es muy alto, nuestro nuevo jefe quiere cambiarlo)
B. As long as the CEO considers it unviable, the board of directors will not approve the project.
(Siempre y cuando el Director Ejecutivo lo considere inviable, el consejo administrativo no aprobará el proyecto)
IMPORTANT NOTE: Remember that the connectors that can fit these structures are the ones given in Chart 1.
NOTA IMPORTANTE: Recuerden que los conectores que se acomodan a estas estructuras son aquellos presentados en el Cuadro 1.
IV. TRANSITIONS + COMPOUND SENTENCE
In order to construct a more detailed and elaborated sentence you can even add a Transition (writing workshop 2) to a compound sentence. In that
sense, a very sophisticated compound sentence can have the same structures given above with the plus of a Transition BEFORE the sentence. It is
also important to remember that Transition expressions ALWAYS HAVE A COMMA AFTER THEM. Let’s see how these renovated structures would
look and a couple of examples for each one of them:
Con el fin de construir una oración más detallada y elaborada, usted puede añadirle una “Transición” (writing workshop 2) a una oración compuesta.
En ese sentido, una oración compuesta muy sofisticada puede tener las mismas estructuras presentadas anteriormente con el valor agregado de una
transición ANTES de la oración. También es importante recordar que las expresiones de Transición SIEMPRE LLEVAN UNA COMA DESPUÉS DE ELLAS.
Veamos cómo lucirían estas estructuras renovadas y algunos ejemplos para cada una de ellas:
RENOVATED STRUCTURE 1:
TRANSITION, SUBJECT + VERB CONNECTOR SUBJECT + VERB.
=
TRANSITION, simple sentence CONNECTOR simple sentence.
Example:
Fortunately, nobody will be fired before their contracts end completely.

(Afortunadamente, nadie será despedido antes de que su contrato termine completamente.)
RENOVATED STRUCTURE 2:
TRANSITION, CONNECTOR simple sentence , simple sentence
Example:
However, if an employee does not work diligently, he can get in serious trouble.
(Sin embargo, si un empleado no trabaja diligentemente, puede meterse en serios problemas.)
EXERCISE - Autonomous work
a. Please, check the following paragraph. It is made only of simple and compound sentences:
HOW LAYOFFS AFFECT SURVIVORS
A recent study has demonstrated the consequences of layoffs on survivors. In other words, it tries to show the perspectives of employees that
continue working in a company after the company fired several employees. The study suggests very interesting facts. For example, 81% of the workers
do not recommend their company because they do not consider it a good place to work. In addition, the level of productivity of 74% of the employees
has declined since they were very more worried about their stability than about their performance. 69% of the survivors see serious problems in the
customer service department after the layoffs. Finally, according to a good number of workers, the quality of service in the company was better
before the company fired their co-workers.
Glossary:
Layoffs: despidos // Fire: despedir // Performance: desempeño // Facts: hechos // Survivors: sobrevivientes
b. Separate each sentence of the paragraph with a double slash “ // ”. You will find simple and compound sentences:
For example:
John is a wonderful student. // In addition, he also works in an international restaurant in the capital city of his country. // John wants to
be an excellent lawyer because all the members of his family were lawyers too. //….
c. Identify the elements of each sentence of the paragraph as follows:
Transitions
Connectors
Subjects
Verbs
For example:
John is a wonderful student. // In addition, he also works in an international restaurant in the capital city of his country. // John wants to
be an excellent lawyer because all the members of his family were lawyers too. // ….
d. Decompose the paragraph into sentences and mark the sentence structure
1- John is a wonderful student.

(Simple sentence = S+V)
2- In addition, he also works in an international restaurant in the capital city of his country.
(Simple sentence = Transition, S+V)
3- John wants to be an excellent lawyer because all the members of his family were lawyers to.
(Compound sentence = S+V connector S+V)
ANSWER KEY
A recent study has demonstrated the consequences of layoffs on survivors. // In other words, it tries to show the perspectives of employees
that continue working in a company after the company fired several employees. // The study suggests very interesting facts. // For example,
81% of the workers do not recommend their company because they do not consider it a good place to work. // In addition, the level of
productivity of 74% of the employees has declined since they were very more worried about their stability than about their performance. //
69% of the survivors see serious problems in the customer service department after the layoffs. // Finally, according to a good number of
workers, the quality of service in the company was better before the company fired their co-workers. //
1- A recent study has demonstrated the consequences of layoffs on survivors.

2- In other words, it tries to show the perspectives of employees that continue working in a company after the company fired several
employees. (Compound sentence = Transition, S+V connector S+V)
3- The study suggests very interesting facts.
4- For example, 81% of the workers do not recommend their company because they do not consider it a good place to work.
(Compound sentence = S+V connector S+V)
5- In addition, the level of productivity of 74% of the employees has declined since they were very more worried about their stability than
about their performance. (Compound sentence = Transition, S+V connector S+V)
6- Moreover, 69% of the survivors see serious problems in the customer service department after the layoffs.
7- Finally, according to a good number of workers, the quality of service in the company was better before the company fired their co-workers.
(Compound sentence = Transition, S+V connector S+V)
In synthesis the deep structure of the paragraph was:
En síntesis, la estructura profunda del párrafo es:
(Simple sentence = S+V). /// (Compound sentence = Transition, S+V connector S+V). /// (Simple sentence = S+V). /// (Compound sentence = S+V
connector S+V). /// (Compound sentence = Transition, S+V connector S+V). /// (Simple sentence = Transition, S+V). /// (Compound sentence =
Transition, S+V connector S+V).
(S+V). /// (T, S+V con S+V). /// (S+V). /// (S+V con S+V). /// (T, S+V con S+V). /// (T, S+V). /// (T, S+V con S+V).
A recent study has demonstrated the consequences of layoffs on survivors. // In other words, it tries to show the perspectives of employees that continue working in a company
after the company fired several employees. // The study suggests very interesting facts. // 81% of the workers do not recommend their company because they do not consider
it a good place to work. // In addition, the level of productivity of 74% of the employees has declined since they were very more worried about their stability than about their
performance. // Moreover, 69% of the survivors see serious problems in the customer service department after the layoffs. // Finally, according to a good number of workers,
the quality of service in the company was better before the company fired their co-workers.
NOTE: As you can see, the basic sentence structure S+V is always present, and it always works either in simple or compound sentences. The use of
transition expressions and connectors just provides consistency and coherence to paragraph. Keep always in mind the three golden rules of the
English language:
 There’s no tacit subject

 Keep the order of the S+V structure
 Be simple and practical.
NOTA: Como puede observar, la estructura básica de la oración S+V siempre está presente tanto en oraciones simples como compuestas. El uso de
transiciones y conectores básicamente le provee consistencia y coherencia al párrafo. Tenga siempre en cuenta las tres reglas de oro del idioma
inglés:
 No hay sujeto tácito

 Mantenga siempre el orden de la estructura S+V
 Sea simple y práctico.
FINAL EXERCISE
Now write a short paragraph introducing one of the subjects that you teach. Take into account the following instructions:
a. Your paragraph must have minimum 5 lines and maximum 10 sentences.

b. Your paragraph must contain “transition expressions”, “simple sentences” and “compound sentences”.
c. As in the previous exercise, you must separate sentences using “.//”; and you must indicate: Transitions Connectors Subjects Verbs
d. Decompose your paragraph into sentences as in the self-assessment exercise
e. You must use font: Arial 12 and a space of 1,5
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© DESIGNED BY:
Cognates
Cognates are words from two languages that are the same or similar. As English borrows
many words from Latin there are many Spanish-English cognates
Spanish Cognate Rule 1

Words that end in –ous change to –oso
Spanish words that end in -oso tend to be adjectives. In English we can often change a noun
into its corresponding adjective by adding -ous e.g advantage/advantageous,
harmony/harmonious, space/spacious. You can often also do this in Spanish with -oso e.g
peligro (danger)/peligroso (dangerous), lujo (luxury)/lujoso (luxurious).
Examples
English Spanish
Curious Curioso
Delicious Delicioso
Glorious Glorioso
Mysterious Misterioso
Numerous Numeroso
Precious Precioso
Religious Religioso
Tedious Tedioso

Words that end in –al are usually the same in English
Examples
English Spanish
Hospital Hospital
Medical Medical
Animal Animal
Casual Casual
Digital Digital
Final Final
Ideal Ideal
Tropical Tropical
Words that end in –ct change to –cto
Examples
English Spanish
Act Acto
Exact Exacto
Correct Correcto
Insect Insecto
Dialect Dialecto
Perfect Perfecto
Product Producto
Conflict Conflicto

Words that end in –ance change to –ancia
Examples
English Spanish
Ambulance Ambulancia
France Francia
Distance Distancia
Substance Substancia
Tolerance Tolerancia
Elegance Elegancia
Importance Importancia
Abundance Abundancia

Words that end in –ic change to –ico
These words are usually adjectives and have the stress (and therefore an accent) on the last
syllable before the -ico
Examples
English Spanish
Alcoholic Alcohólico
Basic Básico
Fantastic Fantástico
Generic Genérico
Medic Médico
Organic Orgánico
Panic Pánico
Romantic Romántico
Words that end in –ar are usually the same in English
Examples
English Spanish
Familiar Familiar
Lunar Lunar
Muscular Muscular
Regular Regular
Solar Solar
Vulgar Vulgar
Similar Similar
Popular Popular

Words that end in –ary change to –ario
Examples
English Spanish
Canary Canario
Diary Diario
Glossary Glossario
Estuary Estuario
Primary Primario
Salary Salario
Vocabulary Vocabulario
Temporary Temporario
panish Cognate Rule 8

Words that end in –ant change to –ante
Examples
English Spanish
Abundant Abundante
Distant Distante
Elegant Elegante
Important Importante
Mutant Mutante
Vacant Vacante
Tolerant Tolerante
Instant Instante

Words that end in –ble are usually the same in English
Examples
English Spanish
Audible Audible
Cabble Cabble
Terrible Terrible
Destructible Destructible
Horrible Horrible
Flexible Flexible
Impossible Imposible
Visible Visible

Words that end in –ence change to –encia
Examples
English Spanish
Coincidence Coincidencia
Competence Competencia
Difference Diferencia
Excellence Excelencia
Frequence Frecuencia
Intelligence Inteligencia
Presence Presencia
Violence Violencia

Words that end in –id change to –ido
Note: many words following this rule have an accent on the first vowel.
Examples
English Spanish
Acid Ácido
Fluid Fluido
Rapid Rápido
Solid Sólido
Valid Válido
Stupid Estúpido
Liquid Líquido
Vivid Vívido

Words that end in –ment change to –mento
Examples
English Spanish
Argument Argumento
Cement Cemento
Department Departmento
Document Documento
Element Elemento
Ligament Ligamento
Moment Momento
Pigment Pigmento

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WRITING WORKSHOP 1

PARTS OF SPEECH – Categorías Gramaticales

The most common parts of speech are:

Las categorías gramaticales más comunes son:

The doctor Their company

PERSON THING - IDEA - CONCEPTION

______nce: performance, patience,

______ism: pragmatism, regionalism,

Articles (a, an, the)

Possessive adjectives (my, your, his, her, its, our, their)

Demonstratives (this, that, these, those)

Let’s see the following examples:

Veamos los siguientes ejemplos:

1. My son is an excellent student. He obtained the best results in the exams.

2. That dog is very angry. It bit a child last week.

1. Mary dances very well Mary doesn’t dance very well

____ate : eliminate, contemplate, create, facilitate, eradicate.

CONCEPT OF A BASIC SENTENCE.

GOLDEN RULES TO KEEP IN MIND!

There is NO TACIT SUBJECT in the English language

Determiners (Articles – Possessive adjectives – Demonstratives – Modifiers)

Adapted from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nairo_Quintana

Mg. Mauricio Buitrago

Universidad Santo Tomás.

Licenciatura en Lengua Extranjera Inglés.

SIMPLE SENTENCES AND TRANSITION EXPRESSIONS

B. WHAT IS A SIMPLE SENTENCE?

¿QUÉ ES UNA ORACIÓN SIMPLE?

1. My grandfather owns a small grocery store.

Please note that:

- These ten (10) sentences only have a subject and a verb.

- Estas diez (10) oraciones solo tienen un sujeto y un verbo.

Sentence 1: Who owns a grocery store? (Answer: my grandfather)

1. This morning ate eggs and bread for breakfast.

- Ahora analícelas identificando Sujetos y Verbos. ¿Ve algo inusual en el patrón?

1. This morning ate eggs and bread for breakfast.

SENTENCE AND PROBLEM POSSIBLE CORRECTIONS

1. This morning ate eggs and bread for breakfast.

NO HAY SUJETO. ¿Quién comió huevos y pan al desayuno?

2. In my city can practice different extreme sports.

3. Is necessary to implement new security policies in our offices.

5. Among students of this university exist very serious

Oración 5= ORDEN DE LAS PALABRAS. El sujeto está SIEMPRE ANTES

- The subject is ALWAYS BEFORE the verb.

¡Así que recuerde!

- El sujeto está SIEMPRE ANTES del verbo.

Es el momento de hacer un sencillo ejercicio

a. My mother always cooks ajiaco for my birthday. C .

1- Recently has rained very much in our city. ______

2- Our principal is considering a strategic alliance with an Italian university. ______

8- Our systems staff development a new registration software. ______

12- We must grade all of the exams immediately. ______

PATRONES IMPORTANTES DE PUNTUACIÓN:

Write a 5-to-7-line paragraph describing your job in your company.

1- It’s a paragraph not a list of sentences.

Escriba un párrafo de 5 a 7 líneas describiendo sus labores en su empresa.

1- Es un párrafo no una lista de oraciones.

A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF MY JOB

Mg. Mauricio Buitrago

Universidad Santo Tomás

Licenciatura en Lengua Extranjera Inglés.

OTHER PARTS OF SPEECH

1. My brother’s car is very old.