Selectividad exam

Read the Guidelines for your Selectividad exam carefully. You will find all the different types of questions that you could be asked in the section Use of English.

Guidelines for PAU   (2014-2015)

You should keep the Tips below in mind. They will help you perform at your best level.

Test-Taking Tips

Remember, think positive and don't panic!

Relative sentences

 For Vocabulary and Grammar practice on Unit 5, click below:

Reinforcement 5    and    Answer Key.

More Practice 5    and   Answer Key.


  For further practice, try these exercises:

 Defining relative sentences  here.    Non-defining relative sentences  here,   and both types   here.



And now, it's time to relax by listening to this song called The man who can't be moved  by the Irish band  The Script. It is not a brand-new song, but it is suitable for this grammar point. Read the lyrics and find the relative sentences.


The Script - The Man Who Can't Be Moved, Vídeo, Lyrics and Karaoke

The Man Who Can't Be Moved   by  The Script

Going back to the corner where I first saw you
Gonna camp in my sleeping bag, I'm not gonna move
Got some words on cardboard, got your picture in my hand
Saying if you see this girl can you tell her where I am

Some try to hand me money, they don't understand
I'm not broke I'm just a broken hearted man
I know it makes no sense, but what else can I do
How can I move on when I'm still in love with you

'Cause if one day you wake up and find that you're missing me
And your heart starts to wonder where on this earth I could be
Thinking maybe you'll come back here to the place that we'd meet
And you'd see me waiting for you on the corner of the street

So I'm not moving
I'm not moving

Policeman says son you can't stay here
I said there's someone I'm waiting for if it's a day, a month, a year
Gotta stand my ground even if it rains or snows
If she changes her mind this is the first place she will go

'Cause if one day you wake up and find that you're missing me
And your heart starts to wonder where on this earth I could be
Thinking maybe you'll come back here to the place that we'd meet
And you see me waiting for you on the corner of the street

So I'm not moving
I'm not moving
I'm not moving
I'm not moving

People talk about the guy
Who's waiting on a girl, oh whoa
There are no holes in his shoes
But a big hole in his world

Maybe I'll get famous as the man who can't be moved
And maybe you won't mean to but you'll see me on the news
And you'll come running to the corner
'Cause you'll know it's just for you

I'm the man who can't be moved
I'm the man who can't be moved

'Cause if one day you wake up and find that you're missing me
And your heart starts to wonder where on this earth I could be
Thinking maybe you'll come back here to the place that we meet
Oh, you see me waiting for you on a corner of the street

So I'm not moving
('Cause if one day you wake up, find that you're missing me)
I'm not moving
(And your heart starts to wonder where on this earth I could be)
I'm not moving
(Thinking maybe you'll come back here to the place that we'd meet)
I'm not moving
(Oh, you see me waiting for you on a corner of the street)

Going back to the corner where I first saw you
Gonna camp in my sleeping bag, I'm not gonna move

A life lesson

 You have probably heard of this inspiring story before, but now that we are dealing with Relationships in the textbook, it is worth taking a minute to read it again and thinking about what truly is important in life. 

The Mayonnaise Jar and the Two Pints of Beer 

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the two pints of beer.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly, and the pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed again that it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up the rest of the space. He asked once more if the jar was full, and his students responded with a unanimous “yes.”

The professor then produced two pint glasses of beer from under the table and poured the contents of both into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the grains of sand. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things - your family, children, health, friends and your favourite passions; things that, if everything else were lost and only they remained, would still make your life full.”

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car. The sand is everything else - the small stuff.

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “There is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.”

“Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children, take time to get medical checkups, take your partner out to dinner and play another 18 holes. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the leaky tap. Take care of the golf balls first - the things that really matter. Set your priorities, because the rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented.

The professor smiled. “I’m glad you asked. It goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem to be, that there’s always room for a couple of beers with a friend.”

- Author Unknown

 

Conditional sentences

Here you are the Vocabulary and Grammar practice on Unit 4.

Reinforcement 4    and     Answer Key

More Practice 4    and    Answer Key

Passive voice

Vocabulary and Grammar practice on Unit 3.


Reinforcement 3    and       Answer Key.

More Practice 3    and      Answer Key.

Change the sentences to passive voice  here,    here,   here  and   here.

Passive voice Questions.

The Causative Have something done   here  and    here.

The Impersonal Passive.

Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas is a time for dreaming... 

Click on the Christmas card below and start dreaming ... Merry Christmas.

And now, this special Christmas card for my 1st of ESO students. Do you know where the mistletoe is placed at Christmas?   That's it, on top of doors. Well, click on this Christmas card and look down... 

Help Santa choose his team of reindeer! He''ll be thankful!

"Live while we are young"

What about a little bit of singing along with One Direction? The lyrics are very easy to understand, although they are written in a very colloquial way. Enjoy it!

 Now, listen again without watching the video and try to fill in the blanks.

 

Live While We're Young

 

[LIAM PAYNE]

Hey ________,  I'm waiting on you, I'm waiting on you
Come on and let me sneak you _________
And have a celebration, a celebration
The music_________,  the window's down

[ZAYN MALIK]

Yeah, we'll be doing what we ________
Just pretending that we're _________
And we know it too
Yeah, we'll keep doing what we ________
Just pretending that we're _________
So tonight

[ALL]

Let's go crazy, crazy, crazy till we see the ________
I know we only met but let's pretend it's _________
And __________, never, never stop for anyone
___________ let's get some
And live while we're young
Woahhh oh oh oh
Woahhhh oh oh oh
And live while we're young
Woahhh oh oh oh
___________ let's get some

[HARRY STYLES]

And live while we're young

[ZAYN MALIK]

Hey girl, it's _________ or never, it's now or never
Don't over-think, just let it ________
And if we get together, yeah, get together
Don't let the pictures leave your ___________, ohhhh

[NIALL HORAN]

Yeah, we'll be doing what we ________
Just pretending that we're __________
So tonight

[ALL]

Let's go crazy, crazy, crazy till we see the _______
I know we only met but let's pretend it's _________
And __________, never, never stop for anyone
___________ let's get some
And live while we're young
Woahhh oh oh oh
Woahhhh oh oh oh
And live while we're young
Woahhh oh oh oh
___________let's get some

[HARRY STYLES]

And live while we're young

[ZAYN MALIK]

And girl, you and I,
We're about to make some memories __________

[LOUIS TOMLINSON]

I wanna live while we're young
______wanna live while we're young

[ALL]

Let's go crazy, crazy, crazy till we see the ______
I know we only met but let's pretend it's ________
And ________,  never, never stop for anyone
___________ let's get some
And live while we're young
Crazy, crazy, crazy till we see the _______
I know we only met but let's pretend it's _________
And __________, never, never stop for anyone
___________ let's get some
And live while we're young
Wanna live, wanna live, wanna live
___________ ____, younnngg
Wanna live, wanna live, wanna live
While we're young
Wanna live, wanna live, wanna live

[HARRY STYLES]

___________let's get some

[ZAYN MALIK]

And live while we're young

REPORTED SPEECH

Have a look at this picture and the sentences next to it! Notice that when the speech is indirect, we have to go back in time, so there is a backshift in the verb tenses.

The patient said that he felt sometimes the walls moved.

The doctor asked him if he drank coffee. 

Click on the links below if you need some practice on Reported speech. As usual, the first two links are about vocabulary and grammar on Unit 2.


Reinforcement 2    and       Key answer.

More Practice 2    and       Key answer.



You can even watch a video with a grammar explanation.

Try this exercise    and       another one.

Some more exercises.

Affixes - Prefixes and Suffixes

Here you have a much longer list of Prefixes and Suffixes than the one we have in our textbook. Remember, it's very important to get familiar with them so that you can be able to recognize unknown words in your Selectividad exam. Click on the image below and you'll find out. You can have some practice after every table clicking on the word Exercise.

Basic list of Prefixes

If you are interested in learning by heart some adjectives and adverbs made of prefixes and suffixes, listen to this Michael Bublé's version of the old song Call me irresponsible by Frank Sinatra. Maybe it's not the kind of music that you'd prefer, but believe me, it's so tender..., and it's also a perfect way to learn  new vocabulary without an effort.

Here are the lyrics with the prefixes and suffixes in bold.

"Call Me Irresponsible"

Call me irresponsible
Call me unreliable
Throw in undependable, too

Do my foolish alibis bore you?
Well, I'm not too clever, I
I just adore you

So, call me unpredictable
Tell me I'm impractical
Rainbows, I'm inclined to pursue

Call me irresponsible
Yes, I'm unreliable
But it's undeniably true
That I'm irresponsibly mad for you

Do my foolish alibis bore you?
Girl, I'm not too clever, I
I just adore you

Call me unpredictable
Tell me that I'm so impractical
Rainbows, I'm inclined to pursue

Go ahead call me irresponsible
Yes, I'm unreliable
But it's undeniably true
I'm irresponsibly mad for you

You know it's true
Oh, baby it's true

Perfect Tenses

Here you have some Vocabulary and Grammar practice for Unit 1.


Perfect Tenses 1

Perfect Tenses 1 Answer Key

Perfect Tenses 2

Perfect Tenses 2 Answer Key



For further practice on Perfect Tenses, you can click on the following links:


Present Perfect vs Past Simple 1   and   here 2

Present Perfect Simple / Continuous

Past Perfect Simple / Continuous

Pres. Perfect Simple / Cont. and Past Perf. Simple / Cont.

Future Perfect