1º BACHILLERATO activities / exercises

 VERBAL TENSES

(Verbal tenses) Rewrite the sentences using the words below

Rewrite thesentences. Don’t change the meaning of the original sentences

English Tenses Quiz: Choose the correct answer for each question.
 

ENGLISH EXERCISE ON VERBS: CHOOSE THE CORRECT ANSWER FROM THE FOUR OPTIONS

 English grammar tense exercises. Fill in the gaps with the right forms of the verbs in capital letters at the end of the sentences
 

 THE GERUND AND / OR THE INFINITIVE 

Choose the correct answer for each gap below 

An interactive quiz to practise the gerund and the infinitive 

Some theory with activities 

Another quiz  

 

 

 SHAKESPEARE'S QUOTES

TO BE OR NOT TO BE: that is the question

Hamlet:

To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover'd country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action.--Soft you now!
The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remember'd. (3.1.56-90)

Hamlet Act 3, scene 1, 55–87

WHO SAID IT AND WHERE

Hamlet is pretty depressed. His father just died and his mom ran off to marry his uncle Claudius the first chance she got. To make matters worse, his dear old dad's ghost showed up and told him that his uncle killed him to steal his crown. But Hamlet can't go around just accusing his uncle Claudius of murder and treason without any proof, now can he? What exactly would he say? A ghost told me? He debates whether he should kill his uncle to avenge his dad's death, or if he should wait it out and see what happens. So he hatches a little plan to make everyone think he's lost his marbles while he attempts to uncover some more evidence..

Strangely  enough, it kind of works. Everyone totally thinks Hamlet is actually gone mad. A nobleman, Polonius, thinks it's because Hamlet's in love with Ophelia. Claudius isn't so sure. So the two men set a trap for Hamlet.

They use Ophelia as bait to get Hamlet talking. The two men will hide and wait to see what happens when Hamlet encounters Ophelia, hoping they'll be able to judge from Hamlet's interaction with her whether he's been driven mad by love, or by something else entirely.  Poor  Ophelia. She actually loves Hamlet and now has to lie to him.

Hearing Hamlet approach, everybody clears out so Hamlet can privately deliver one of the greatest speeches of all time. What's the question? "To be, or not to be," of course . If you follow Hamlet's speech carefully, you'll notice that his notions of "being" and "not being" are rather complex. He doesn't simply ask whether life or death is preferable; it's hard to clearly distinguish the two—"being" comes to look a lot like "not being," and vice versa. To be, in Hamlet's eyes, is a passive state, to "suffer" outrageous fortune's blows, while not being is the action of opposing those blows. Living is, in effect, a kind of slow death, a submission to fortune's power. On the other hand, death is initiated by a life of action, rushing armed against a sea of troubles—a pretty hopeless project, if you think about it.

Why should you care? What does it mean nowadays?

Probably the best-known lines in English literature, Hamlet's greatest soliloquy is the source of more than a dozen everyday (or everymonth) expressions—the stuff that newspaper editorials and florid speeches are made on.

We should tell you that you should care about Hamlet because it just might mark the beginning of a new kind of literature that focuses on the struggles and conflicts within a single individual, rather than on the external conflicts between individuals. Or we can make it even simpler, and say that Hamlet just might be Western literature's first modern man—or modern teenager.

But the fact of the matter is, we think you should care about Hamlet and his little speech because he's having a teenage crisis—and we can all relate. Okay, so he doesn't dye his hair and plaster pictures of Fall Out Boy all over his walls, but he does start wearing all black and talking to himself a lot—the 16th century equivalent of keeping a video diary. This phrase comes directly from that video diary.

Hamlet's got a crush on a girl who might be cheating on him; he doesn't like the guy his mom remarried; and he feels a lot of pressure to live up to his dad's expectations. In other words, Hamlet is just like us.

Sure, he's got bigger problems. (And ghosts) And maybe we wouldn't go around town delivering a big speech like this when we're struggling to keep up with life, but we all understand what he's saying. Hamlet's mysterious inner life—his roller coaster of emotions, his struggle to figure out what to do with his life, his conflicted feelings about his parents—is the stuff that every coming-of-age novel (and movie) is made of.

So next time you hear someone say "to be or not to be," chances are you might be thinking about bigger questions than they are.

ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE, and all the men and women merely players

Jaques:

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.
And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side,
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything

As You Like It Act 2, scene 7, 139–143

WHO SAID IT AND WHERE

This is one of the most famous quotes in Shakespeare. We hear it all the time, everywhere. But do we actually know what it means?

This quote comes to us from As You Like It. More specifically, it's from a scene in which a character called Jaques is talking to some pals he comes across in the forest about the meaning of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

What do we mean when we say it today?

Whatever the reason, the phrase "all the world's a stage" lives on even today. It has been quoted in everything from Star Trek:  The Next Generation to Ugly Betty to Calvin and Hobbes. Oscar Wilde even put his own spin on it by saying that "the world is a stage, and the play is badly cast" in one of his short stories. It's clear that people love to quote this one line, but are they just saying it because it sounds clever, or because they think that something about it resonates with us still today?

Well, it depends. We think that most of the times this quote is used, people aren't really referring to the seven ages of man. After all, the idea that men and women are merely just going through those seven phases of life isn't really that popular today.

Why should you care? What does it mean nowadays?

We do think that people are talking about the fact that most of us perform when we're around others. Don't you believe us? Well then answer us this: have you ever done something or said something because you thought you were supposed to? Or because that's what you were told to do, even if it didn't really agree with your true feelings?

Guilty. We know we have. Lots of times when someone asks us how we are doing, we just say "good" as a reflex, even if we really feel like screaming into a pillow. Why? Because we don't want to share our real selves with anyone on the street. Sure, we can be real with our friends and families, but sometimes we pretend to be happy or sad if we think that's what we're supposed to do in a certain situation.

And that's exactly what Jaques is getting at, isn't it? He's talking about how we all act, even if we don't call ourselves actors. After all, all the world's a stage.

ALL THAT GLITTERS IS NOT GOLD

Prince of Morocco:

O hell! what have we here?
A carrion Death, within whose empty eye
There is a written scroll! I'll read the writing.

Reads
All that glitters is not gold;
Often have you heard that told:
Many a man his life hath sold

But my outside to behold:
Gilded tombs do worms enfold.
Had you been as wise as bold,
Young in limbs, in judgment old,
Your answer had not been inscroll'd:
Fare you well; your suit is cold.
Cold, indeed; and labour lost:
Then, farewell, heat, and welcome, frost!
Portia, adieu. I have too grieved a heart
To take a tedious leave: thus losers part. (2.7.62-77)

The Merchant of Venice (II, vii)

WHO SAID IT AND WHERE

Portia is a beautiful, virtuous, wealthy woman who is being wooed by numerous suitors. She is not free to decide on her own whom she will marry because her father stipulated in his will that she must marry the man who correctly picks the one casket (out of three) that contains her picture. One casket is gold, another is silver, and the third is made of lead. The Prince of Morocco is one in a long line of suitors who tries to win Portia's hand.

Poor  Portia. Even though her father is dead, he still manages to control her life from the grave. In his will, Portia's father said that her husband would be determined according to a lottery Since Portia is rich, smart, and beautiful, men travel from all over the world for a chance to marry the heiress. (It's like a contest, we'd say that's a unpleasant, outdated practice, but it sounds an awful lot like a certain TV show we love to loathe, so we'll keep our mouths shut!). Here's the deal. A suitor is given the option of choosing one of three caskets: gold, silver, and lead. If he guesses correctly, he gets Portia and all her money. If he chooses incorrectly, he has to leave Belmont immediately and can never, ever marry. Apparently, Portia's dad reasoned that the man who chooses the correct casket (which holds a picture of Portia inside) will be the right man for our girl. Now that he knows all the rules, the Prince of Morocco sets about choosing a chest. He goes over each of the inscriptions and reasons to himself. The lead chest asks the man who chooses it to risk everything; the Prince decides he wouldn't risk everything, or anything really, for plain old lead.Then he decides the silver chest has better promise, as it says he'll get what he deserves in choosing it. The Prince declares that in birth, fortunes, grace, and stature, he deserves Portia. Oh, and because of how much he loves her. He says he could be happy with the silver chest, but he checks out the gold one anyway, as it promises what many men desire. It seems all men desire Portia, as they're coming from every corner of the earth to woo her. He decides lead is too worthless, and silver is of less worth than gold, so gold is the only thing worthy enough to hold Portia's picture.When the Prince opens the golden casket, he finds a picture not of Portia but of Death with a message written in its hollow eye with the famous words, "All that glisters [glitters] is not gold." And so, our tall, dark, handsome and rich Prince is condemned to a life of solitude.

What do we mean when we say it today?

"All that glitters is not gold" is a popular proverb these days. It gets trotted out anytime a mentor/parent/grandparent wants to teach a young kid about what is really important in life. But it's not just Shakespeare we have to thank for that. Lord Of The Rings fans will know that J.R.R. Tolkien used this phrase as inspiration for his poem, "All that is gold does not glitter" in The Fellowship of the Ring.And Led Zeppelin fans will recognize it as a lyric in "Stairway to Heaven." And how could we forget the Death in Vegas song, "All That Glitters"?

Why should you care?

Here's the thing. This quote may be all about the Prince, but we totally feel for Portia in this scene. Even from the grave her dad is managing her life. It reminds us a little of parents we know. Or maybe a lot.

But we think the point here isn't so much that he's controlling her choice of husband. Sure, this bothers her a lot. But fathers usually got to decide whom their daughters married in the 16th century. We think the point of the Prince of Morocco's little role on stage is to remind us that money, wealth, and power aren't the most important things in the world. The Prince has everything he could ever want, and he's used to getting his way. But he gets confused by his own greed for more gold.

Everyone knows that when you're presented with three mysterious caskets in a fairytale, you choose the one that looks the ugliest. That's the whole message of kids stories like The Ugly Duckling, and that key scene inIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Instead of looking on the outside, we're supposed to look at what really counts. And it turns out that's not gold.

So what this quote is really saying is this: don't get caught up in the fancy cars and designer labels in life. They don't mean everything. We think that's still good advice, 400 years on.

MAKE A VIRTUE OF NECESSITY

Second Outlaw:

Indeed, because you are a banish'd man,
Therefore, above the rest, we parley to you:
Are you content to be our general?
To make a virtue of necessity
And live, as we do, in this wilderness?

The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Act 4.Scene 1.59-63)

WHO SAID IT AND WHERE

This saying was first recorded in Chaucer. He used it in several texts, including The Canterbury Tales - the Knight's Tale.

Shakespeare used it and made it popular in Two Gentlemen of Verona.

"Will you be my valentine?" That's what our boy Valentine asks when he meets and falls in love with the beautiful and playful Silvia. Silvia treats Valentine like her "servant" and he loves every minute of it. That's how guys and girls flirt in "courtly romance" literature, which Shakespeare is, to some extent, making fun of here.

But there's trouble in paradise, because when Proteus ( the other gentleman of Verona) shows up, he promptly falls in love with Silvia, forgetting all about the girl he left back home. Then Proteus does something awful—he tattles on Valentine (who plans to elope with Silvia) to Silvia's protective father, the Duke of Milan. That's below the belt, bro.

When the Duke approaches Valentine, a lover letter to Silvia and a rope ladder fall out of the young man's jacket. The Duke says something like "A-ha! You're planning to climb that ladder up to my daughter's bedroom. Get out of my sight." Ultimately, the Duke banishes Valentine from Milan. If Valentine shows his face in town ever again, he'll be put to death.

Naturally, Valentine flees to the forest between Milan and Mantua with his friend Speed, and they run into a group of outlaws. The outlaws are impressed when they hear that Valentine has been banished from Milan. They're even more impressed when Valentine lies about having "killed a man." See, now they think of Valentine as some kind of Robin Hood figure and invite him to join their bad boy club. Then they all take turns bragging about their crimes. Valentine agrees to join the outlaw club but makes them promise not to hurt any women or defenseless travelers. They agree and set off to live as a band of happy bachelors.

What do we mean when we say it today?

Nowadays, this phrase means the exact same thing as it did in Shakespeare's day. Let's say you don't really want to do something, but you're in a jam. You might make a good thing (virtue) out of something you have to do (necessity). It's one way of making the most of a not-so-good situation.

We do it all the time to brighten the day. Sooner or later, those tasks that you were forced to do become no biggie.

Why should you care?

Have you ever met one of those people who is always in a good mood? It doesn't matter if he or she is at an 8 a.m. class, or staying late after school to work on b-ball drills—this person is cheerful and lively all the time.

Us? We need a few cups of coffee in the morning before we would call ourselves anything approximating cheerful. But we sure do envy those people who always have it together. They're peppy and prepared no matter where they go. Those people are really good at making virtue of necessity.

That's just a fancy way of saying they're making the best of a situation. They're not letting someone else get them down.  You've probably heard the saying that "you can't control what cards you're dealt, but you can choose how to play them."

JEALOUSY IS THE GREEN-EYED MONSTER 

Iago:

O, beware, my lord, of jealousy;
It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock
The meat it feeds on; that cuckold lives in bliss
Who, certain of his fate, loves not his wronger;
But, O, what damned minutes tells he o'er
Who dotes, yet doubts, suspects, yet strongly loves!

Othello Act 3, scene 3, 165–171

WHO SAID IT AND WHERE

The notion that jealousy is green-eyed is probably older than Shakespeare, although Shakespeare is our earliest authority in print. Renaissance Englishmen often paired colors with emotions or personal qualities: both green and yellow are emblematic of jealousy, and green is also emblematic of envy. Some colors are associated with the bodily fluids or "humors" thought to make up the temperament; green and black were the colors attributed to bile. Iago's basic idea is that the fortunate man knows his wife is cheating; the unfortunate man only suspects it, and is caught between the jaws of affection and anxiety. History and Shakespeare's infinity of cuckold jokes testify that Renaissance men were particularly prone to suspect their wives. The social perils of cuckoldry were severe indeed: it ruined a man's credit and debased his wife. Such consequences produced an advanced state of jealous suspicion known as "horn-madness," named after the metaphorical horns that were supposed to sprout from the cuckold's brow.

Iago spends all of his time plotting against Othello and Desdemona. He eventually convinces Othello that his wife has been cheating, despite the fact that Desdemona has been completely faithful. Why? The truth is we don't really know. Sure, he lost out on a promotion. And there may or may not be rumors going around town about his wife being promiscuous. But Iago's capacity for cruelty seems limitless. No motivation he gives for his actions seems enough to explain the incredible destruction he wreaks on the lives of the people he knows best.

In this scene, Iago's torture of Othello finally takes hold of the general. He's told us (the audience) what he plans to do, but this is when he actually does it. He lays down the bait. Iago starts asking Othello fake-casual questions about Cassio, a soldier who was often a go-between when Othello courted Desdemona. Iago keeps dropping uncomfortable hints, and finally, Othello takes the bait. He demands to know what's bothering him. Iago says he'd rather not say, and then Othello presses him some more, and then Iago says he'd rather not say, and Othello presses him again and again.This pattern continues and by the end of their exchange, Iago has successfully cast doubt on Cassio's honesty, suggested he is disloyal, hinted that Desdemona is unfaithful and warned Othello not to be jealous.Othello swears he's not the jealous type. He only ever builds his conclusions after investigating his suspicions. If something seems wrong, he'll find out what's happening right away and resolve the situation. He promises he has to see something to raise his suspicion before he'd have doubts about his wife's loyalty.In response, Iago essentially says, "Okay, if you promise you won't be jealous, you should watch Desdemona with Cassio, but objectively, and not out of jealousy." Iago adds helpfully that Desdemona did deceive her father in order to marry Othello. He's implying that Desdemona is not to be trusted, as she is a woman, and thus a liar. Othello is persuaded by what Iago has said, and it's clear the seed of suspicion has been planted.

What do we mean when we say it today?

A jealous boyfriend who actually has nothing to worry about ruins his relationship with his girl after he accuses her of cheating. That's the green-eyed monster at work. And it's also super ironic. If he had just taken a chill pill, he could have kept the girl. But since he freaked out about it and went all accusation-crazy, he lost her.The truth is, we see this dynamic pop up all over the place on TV, in movies, and in songs. We couldn't isolate just one to mention. There are so many stories that feature the green-eyed monster, we hardly knew where to start.

When we hear someone say "the green-eyed monster" today, he's for sure talking about jealousy. But jealousy still ruins an awful lot of things (marriages, relationships…) And this nasty characteristic sure gets a lot of attention for doing it.

Why should you care?

Othello is probably the most famous literary work that focuses on the dangers of jealousy. And this is the most famous phrase featuring jealous in our culture. So what is it about jealousy that turns us into green, flesh-eating, fire-breathing monsters?

Well, this whole play tries to answer that question. It shows us how jealousy can be fueled by mere circumstantial evidence, or even just an unfounded accusation. When you have thrown jealousy into the mix, lives get destroyed. The hero (that would be Othello) succumbs to jealousy when Iago convinces him that Desdemona has been an unfaithful wife. In the end, Othello murders his wife and then kills himself, all because Iago fanned the envy flames.

Let's face it: when people are jealous, they do crazy things. A man killing his wife over her having an affair sounds like something you expect to hear on the news, not something in a 400-year-old play. But that's the thing about this quote. It's still just as relevant as when it was first said. We think that'ssomething to care about.

1º B Bach: Tipos de redacciones que os quedan por hacer

 Ani Zaharieva: Descriptive; For / Against; Opinion
Sergio Barreno: For / Against; opinion
Monica Allegue: For / Against; Opinion
Eduardo Alonso: Narrative; Descriptive
Silvia Cáceres: For / Against; Opinion
Alejandro Diéguez: Opinion; Descriptive
Carlos Egido: Opinion; narrative; descriptive
Javier García: narrative; descriptive
Juan García: For / Against; narrative
Jimena Garrido: Narrative; descriptive
Lucía Gómez: Narrative; descriptive
Lucía Herguedas: Narrative; For / Against; Opinion
Julia Herrero:  Opinion; For / Against
Jessica Higuera: Descriptive; For / Against
Lilia Kosakova: Opinion; narrative
Eloy Moro: For / Against; Opinion
David Pastor: Narrative; Descriptive
Rodrigo Pérez: Narrative; descriptive; For / Against
Juan Francisco Piquero: For / Against; Opinion
Pablo Polo: Descriptive; For / Against
Eva San Isidro: For / Against; Opinion
Miguel Sánchez: Narrative; Opinion; descriptive
Paula Sanz: Narrative; Opinion
Julia Sanz: Narrative; Descriptive; Opinion
Saron Sanz: Descriptive; For / Against
   
1º A Bach: Tipos de redacciones que os quedan por hacer
Carlos Alonso: Descriptiva, for / against; opinion
Sergio Criado: Descriptiva; for /against
Diego Gómez: For / against; opinion
Ernesto González: For / against; opinion.
Teresa Martín: For / against; narrative; descriptive
David Olives: For / against; opinion
Diego Alcubilla: opnion; for / against
Victor Balbás: Narrative; for / against
Álvaro de Frutos: descriptive; for / against
César García: narrative; opinion
Paula García: Narrative; For / Against.
Sergio Gómez: Descriptive; Opinion
Iván González: Opinion; Descriptive
Andrea Sanz: Descriptive; opinion
Elena Subtil: Narrative; opinion
Borja Vírseda: Descriptive; For / Against
Marta Yuste: Narrative; Descriptive
Bartolomej Zelak:  Narrative; Descriptive.
 

ESSAY TO HAND IN (2): Deadline: Monday 15thFebruary

• Narrative: Write a story beginning this way: "We were in the middle of an uncomfortably sticky jungle. It was early night and the temperature began to fall. It was still cool..." 

• For / Against: What are the advantages and disadvantages of having a hobby such as playing an instrument, playing a sport or simply reading?

• Description: Describe your favourite singer. (Be careful and do not write his / her biography) 

•  
  
  Opinion: Do you think that controlling the weather is a good idea? Why or Why not?

 

ESSAY TO HAND IN (2): Deadline: Wednesday 18th November

• Narrative: Write a story whose title is "MY TWIN BROTHERS ARE FINALLY AT HOME"
• Descriptive: Write a description of your own family. Offer as many details as possible
• For and against: What are the advantages and disadvantages of being an only child? Justify your ideas.
• Opinion: Why do you think it's common for siblings to fight? What do you think parents should do when their children fight?  Justify your opinion. 

 

 

ESSAY TO HAND IN (1): Deadline: Wednesday 28th october

• Narrative: Write about an interesting, funny or ironic event involving your family. Do not forget any detail.
• Descriptive: Choose one of the three photos you find at the bottom right hand corner on page 13 in your book and describe it. Offer as many details as possible
• For and against: Which is better: creative names or more traditional ones? Justify your ideas.
• Opinion: Would you like to have a small or a large family?  Justify your opinion.

reading texts. In this link you can find quite a lot of reading text to practice for your exam and at the end of the document you have the answers for self-correction.



Grammar Exercises for Bachillerato  In this link you can find online activities to practise any grammatical topic we have already studied. Take advantage of it and use it whenever you feel like.

 


Let's practice the use of those common adjectives whose meaning changes whether they take the suffix "-ed" or the suffix "-ing". Click on the following example: Embarrased-Embarrasing


 

A video looking at how to formulate and use the Passive Voice: its regular structure and the passive with ditransitve verbs. 
The passive voice