Halloween videos

Positivity and a joke

Back to the Future

The day has come! We are in the future!

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/10/20/entertainment/back-to-the-future-day-feat/

http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/live/2015/oct/21/back-to-the-future-day-live-experience-21-october-2015-round-the-world

Connectors for essays

ENGLISH CONNECTORS

GLOSSARY OF CONNECTORS

Alphabetical Order

Actually / Indeed / In fact: en realidad; de hecho. 

After: después de.

Afterwards / Later  Next / Then: después; entonces.

Also/ as well / too: también

Although / Though / Even though: aunque.

And: y 

Anyway: en cualquier caso.

As: cuando, mientras (Time); como (Reason). 

As a result: como resultado; en consecuencia. 

As soon as: tan pronto como. 

As well as: así como; a la vez que (Addition). 

Because / Cause: porque 

Because of: por.

Before: antes de (prep./conjuction); antes (adv.)

Besides / Moreover / Furthermore / In addition: además. 

But: pero

For: para (followed by a gerund)

For example / For instance: por ejemplo.

In case: por si acaso. 

In brief / to sum up / in short: en resumen.

In other words: en otras palabras

In conclusion: concluyendo.

In particular: en particular.

However / Nevertheless / Though / Yet: sin embargo. 

In contrast to / Contrary to / Unlike: al contrario de; diferente a. 

In spite of / Despite: a pesar de 

Like: como. 

Meanwhile: mientras; mientras tanto. 

On the one hand... on the other one: por una parte .... por otra. 

Owing to / due to: debido a. 

Since: ya que, puesto, que. 

So / Therefore / Thus: por lo tanto.

So that / In order that: para que. 

Such as: tales como. 

To / In order to / So as to: para 

Until: hasta 

When: cuando 

Whenever: siempre que. 

Whereas / While: mientras que (Time / Contrast).

  

Connectors divided into CONJUNCTIONS and ADVERBS. 

GLOSSARY OF CONNECTORS GROUPED IN CATEGORIES
Conjunctions	Adverbs
After: después de. Although / Though / Even though: aunque. And: y  As: cuando, mientras (Time); como (Reason).  As soon as: tan pronto como.  As well as: así como; a la vez que (Addition).  Because / Cause: porque  Because of: por. Before: antes de (prep./conjuction)  But: pero For: para (followed by a gerund) In case: por si acaso.  In contrast to / Contrary to / Unlike: al contrario de; diferente a.  In spite of / Despite: a pesar de  Like: como.  Owing to / due to: debido a.  Since: ya que, puesto, que.  So that l In order that: para que.  Whereas / While: mientras que. To / In order to / So as to: para  Until: hasta  When: cuando  Whenever: siempre que.  Such as: tales como.	Actually / Indeed / In fact: en realidad; de hecho.  Afterwards / Later /  Next / Then: después; entonces. Also/ as well / too: también Anyway: en cualquier caso. As a result: como resultado; en consecuencia.  Before: antes (adv.) Besides / Moreover / Furthermore / In addition: además.  For example / For instance: por ejemplo. In brief / to sum up / in short: en resumen. In other words: en otras palabras In conclusion: concluyendo. So / Therefore / Thus: por lo tanto. However / Nevertheless / Though / Yet: sin embargo.  Meanwhile: mientras; mientras tanto.  On the one hand... on the other: por una parte .... por otra.  In particular: en particular.

➢ Distinguishing between ADVERBS and CONJUNCTION:

• ADVERBS: They are separated from the previous sentence by “.” or “;” and followed by “ ,“.  

“We knew you were coming; therefore, we arranged a party”

• CONJUNCTIONS: They join both sentences directly.

“We arranged a party because we knew you were coming”

- Sometimes, the conjunction connector can come at the beginning; then, we separate one sentence from the other with “ ,“.  

“As we knew you were coming, we arranged a party”

- Some of these linking connective words can only be followed by a NOUN, a PHRASE or GERUND but never a sentence. In some cases, they are actually prepositions: due to, despite, etc. 

Addition
Conjunctions	Adverbs
And + SENTENCE or PHRASE /As well as + PHRASE. “He’s very rich and/as well as competitive” “He’s very rich and he is verycompetitive”	Besides / Moreover / Furthermore / In addition. “He’s quite rich. Futhermore, he owns some of the most important firms in England” Also/ as well / too. “He’s very rich  and he is very competitive, too.” (At the end of the sentence) “He’s very rich  and he is very competitiveas well.” (At the end of the sentence) “He’s very rich  and he is also very competitive.” (Next to the verb) “He’s very rich  and also, he is very competitive.” (Before the sentence) “He’s very rich  and he is very competitive, also.” (At the end. Less usual)
Contrast
Conjunctions	Adverbs
Although / Though / Even though. “Although it was very late, they din’t hurry” In spite of / Despite + NOUN /GERUND “Despite/In spite of being late, they didn’t hurry”  Despite the fact (that) / In spite of the fact (that) + SENTENCE “Despite/In spite of the fact they were late, they didn’t hurry” But “They were late but they didn’t hurry” Whereas / While (A contrast between two ideas related to the same category) “Janet is very talkative whereas her sister is very introverted” In contrast to / Contrary to / Unlike + NOUN (Two entities and the same idea). “Unlike her sister, Janet is very talkative”	However / Nevertheless / Yet. They were very late. However, they didn’t hurry” though: at the end of a sentence, it means however in a more informal use. “They were very late. They didn’ hurry, though” On the one hand... on the other one/hand: they introduce two correlative different sentences. “On the one hand, the idea f the project was really interesting. On the other one,they told us there was not enough money to afford it”
Explanation
Conjunctions	Adverbs
Like / Such as + NOUN /GERUND “I like all sorts of music like/such as classical music, jazz, rock and techno”	For example / For instance /In other words / Actually / Indeed / In fact / In particular/Anyway. “I like all sorts of music; for instance, classical music, jazz, rock and techno” “I like music very much; actually, I like all sorts of music” “I like music very much. In particular, I like rock and jazz” “I like classical music, jazz, rock and techno. In other words, I like nearly all sorts of music ” “It is dangerous; anyway, I'll do it ”
Purpose
Conjunctions	Adverbs
To / In order to / So as to + INFINITIVE “ We went to London in order to have lunch in a good restaurant” So that / In order that + SENTENCE “We went to London in order that our guests could eat in a good restaurant” For + GERUND(Normally used to express the function of an object or gadget) /  NOUN  “A computer is used for saving information among other things”  “We went to London for lunch / for a coffee”  In case: PURPOSE + PROBABILITY “I’ll take some money in case we go to a restaurant”
Reason
Conjunctions	Adverbs
Because / Cause + SENTENCE “We didn’t go out because it was raining” As / Since + SENTENCE (Normally at the beginning of the whole sentence) “As it was raining, we didn’t go out” Because of /Owing to / Due to/ As a result of + NOUN “We didn’t go out because of the bad weather”
Result
Conjunctions	Adverbs
Writing and before the adverbs, we  get them be used as conjunctions. “It was raining and as a result, we didn’t go out”	As a result / Consequently / So / Therefore/ Thus “It was raining; as a result, we didn’t go out”
Summary
Conjunctions	Adverbs
	As a conclusion / In conclusion / In brief / to sum up / in short. “She was always cring and comlaining. She never helped us with our tasks andshe never cared about our problems. In brief / In conclusion, she was a very selfish person.”
Time
Conjunctions	Adverbs
After /Before /Whereas / While /Until/When /Whenever /As /As soon as. “When / As soon as I had finished, I went out for a walk” “Whenever I phone Gary, he is out”. “As /While I was wathing TV, the telephone rang”	Meanwhile / Before “I was studying in my room; meanwhile, my friends were at the cinema because they didn’t have to do the exam. Before, we had had lunch together”
Time sequence
Conjunctions	Adverbs
	First (of all), secondly, thirdly.../ In the first place, in the second place... /Afterwards / Later /  Next / Then “First, I had a coffee and read the newspaper. Secondly, I took some notes and checked my agenda and then, I went to class”

RESOURCES TO CONSULT OR VISIT: 1. What you remember from previous years and notes you alreadyhave  a. Try these web pages: you will also find interactive exercises. i. www.english-at-home.com/grammar/linking-words ii. www.vivquarry.com/wkshts/linkwd.html   iii. www.esl.about.com/library/writing/blwrite_connectors.htm    iiii. www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/Resources/la/QuickClicks%20Repository/LC_worksheet_linking%20words.pdf  (A lot of them) v. www.uni-klu.ac.at/hlg/sber/downloads/linking_words.pdf vi. http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/effective/6c.html  (conjunction vs adverb(transition signals) vii.  http://www.aippg.com/ielts/connective_words_english.html (good chart) viii. http://laproff.wordpress.com/category/all-connectorstext-connectives/ (Another good chart) ix. http://heptagrama.com/en/i_col_tra_0002.htm (Useful at any time) x. http://www.learn-english-today.com/wordgames/hotpot-quizzes/linking-words1.html(Practical quiz) xi. http://a4esl.org/q/f/y/zz99maa.htm (Practical quiz) xii. http://a4esl.org/q/h/9801/wp-missouri.html (Practical quiz) xiii. http://www.go4english.com/qg/read.php?lang=en&unitid=881 (Practical quiz) b. Search in GOOGLE.

Gerund/infinitive with change in meaning

http://www.inglesnaturalmente.com/verbos-seguidos-por-infinitivo-o-gerundio-en-ingles/

A veces verbos seguidos por infinitivo o gerundio en inglés implican un cambio radical de significado.  Otras veces el significado no cambia en absoluto – por ejemplo: It started to rain / It started raining (Empezó a llover) – o cambia sutilmente – por ejemplo: I like to eat well / I like eating well (Me gusta comer bien). 

En este post echaré un vistazo a los verbos seguidos por infinitivo o gerundio en inglés cuyos significados cambian según la forma que se utilice después.  Haré hincapié en siete verbos:

stop

remember

regret

mean

try

forget

go on

1.  to stop

to stop to do        parar para hacerto stop doing       dejar de hacer / parar de hacer

He stopped to help the old woman.
Simon paró para ayudar a la anciana.
[Para + infinitivo en inglés]

In January I stopped smoking.
En enero dejé de fumar.

2.  to remember

to remember to do     recordar hacer (no olvidar)
to remember doing    recordar haber hecho (tener un recuerdo del pasado)

I must remember to iron my shirts before Monday.
Debo recordar planchar mis camisas antes del lunes.

David remembers getting lost in London the first time he visited the city.
David recuerda haberse perdido en Londres la primera vez que visitó la ciudad.

3.  to regret

to regret to do     lamentar hacer
to regret doing    arrepentirse de hacer

I regret to inform you that your job application was unsuccessful.
Lamento informarte de que tu solicitud de trabajo no fue exitosa.

Albert regrets arguing with his wife the day before she went away.
Albert se arrepiente de haber discutido con su mujer el día antes de que se fuera.

4.  to mean

to mean to do      tener la intención de hacer
to mean doing     significar hacer

He meant to call his girlfriend last night but he forgot.
Tenía la intención de llamar a su novia ayer por la noche pero se le olvidó.

For the young rocker, starting work for the first time meant getting his long hair cut.
Para el joven rockero, empezar a trabajar por primera vez significó cortarse el pelo largo.

5.  to try

to try to do    intentar o tratar de (para ver si es posible hacerlo)
to try doing   intentar o tratar de (para ver cuál sería el resultado o consecuencia)

La diferencia de significado entre try + infinitivo y try + gerundio a veces se ve claramente y otras veces es mucho más sutil.

Se utiliza try + infinitivo para referirse a una acción que es difícil y que quizá no se llega a realizar.

Se utiliza try + gerundio para referirse a una acción que no se ve como complicada pero no se sabe cuáles serán los resultados o consecuencias.

Por ejemplo, cambiar la pila de una linterna no debería suponer ningún problema mientras cambiar la rueda de un coche sí podría.

Mark tried changing the battery but the torch still didn’t work.
Mark intentó cambiar la pila pero la linterna seguía sin funcionar.

After getting a puncture, Mark tried to change the wheel but without the proper tools it was impossible.

Después de sufrir un pinchazo, Mark intentó cambiar la rueda, pero sin las herramientas apropiadas fue imposible.

6. to forget

to forget to do         olvidar hacer (no recordar)
to forget doing        olvidar haber hecho (no tener un recuerdo del pasado)

El uso del infinitivo o gerundio después de forget es parecido a su uso después de remember pero con el significado opuesto, olvidar en lugar de recordar.

Don’t forget to post the letter!
¡No olvides echar la carta!

Simon will never forget asking Maria to marry him; it was such a special moment.
Simon no olvidará nunca haberle pedido matrimonio a Maria; fue un momento tan especial.

7. to go on

to go on to do        continuar de forma diferente o con algo diferente
to go on doing       continuar / seguir haciendo

Cuando va seguido del gerundio, to go on es un sinónimo de to continue.

Pero to go on + infinitivo implica que algo pare o cambie y que siga o empiece de manera distinta.  

Que yo sepa, no hay un verbo en español que transmita bien este matiz inglés.

Se demuestra mejor a través de un par de ejemplos:

Daisy the cow had always produced a lot of milk and went on producing it well into old age.
La vaca Daisy siempre había producido mucha leche y continuó produciéndola hasta bien avanzada la edad.

By contrast, Maisy the cow had never produced much milk but after an operation, she went on to produce milk just like Daisy.
En cambio, la vaca Maisy nunca había producido mucha leche pero después de una operación, empezó a producir leche como Daisy.

Otros ejemplos:

Sam went on speaking about his new job even though nobody was interested.
Sam siguió hablando de su nuevo trabajo aunque nadie estaba interesado.

After showing us photos of his kids, Sam went on to speak about his new job.
Después de enseñarnos fotos de sus hijos, Sam cambió de tema y empezó a hablar de su nuevo trabajo.

La implicación de Sam went on to speak es que antes hablaba de otra cosa.  En cambió, Sam went on speaking implica que continuó con el mismo tema.

Ahora te toca a ti un poco de práctica.  ¿Cómo se traduce lo siguiente

1.  Pararon de hablar para escuchar las noticias.
2.  No han recibido la invitación.  ¿Recordaste echarla al correo?
Sí.  Claramente recuerdo haberla echado al correo.
3.  Lamento decirte que me arrepiento de haberme casado contigo.
4.  Tenía la intención de ir a correr esta mañana pero significaba levantarme temprano.
5.  Intenta encender la luz si no puedes ver.
6.  Intenté encender la luz pero no pude encontrar el interruptor.