What a family!

A fresh look at the Cortez

1. Intro warm-up situation

Narration
The Cortez are the biggest family in my neighborhood. They are four brothers and
four sisters and their parents Tomas and Juliet. They are a very special family as
all children are twins .The first two brothers born twins were Victor and Antonio.
Antonio is more athletic than Victor, but Victor is taller than Antonio. The second
twins are Michelle and Lucia, the third twins are Oscar and Natalia. And the last
twins are Jessica and Roberto.
Michelle is as clever as Lucia in math. Oscar and Natalia are both romantic and
love listening to ballad music. Jessica and Roberto are totally different, Jessica is
shy and Roberto is outgoing.
The Cortez spend a lot of time together. They have a lot of expenses as well, since
Tomas Cortez is the only person that works. They often go to the movies on
Thursdays because the tickets for 3D movies are cheaper that day. On weekends,
they usually practice some sport and eat out. Tomas Cortez is an experience
teacher and hes very patient with children. His daughters, Michelle and Lucia are
also students in his class. They are so lucky!

2. Answer the questions

Write the correct answer to the questions:

Questions
How many brothers and sisters do the
Cortez have?
Are the Cortez the biggest family in
the neighborhood?
Who are the second twins?
Who are the last twins?
Who are romantic?
Do they usually go to the movies on
weekends?
Why are Michelle and Lucy so lucky?

Answers

3. Language structure
Write the letter to the correct image:

Antonio is Atlethic.

Victor is tall.

Antonio is more athletic than Victor.

Victor is taller than Antonio.

They are romantic people.

Thats a really expensive car.

The Cortez are the biggest family in my

neighborhood.

Antonio is the tallest in my class.

My first cell phone was very big.

The second twins are Michelle and

Lucia.

The last twins are very helpful.

The Cortez spend a lot of time together.

There are some people in the library.

There are a lot of tourist attractions in

Barranquilla.

There isnt any river in San Andres

Islands.

Identify

Identify the quantitative adjectives, comparatives and superlatives in the following

situations:
Situation 1:
A: What do you do think about Shakira?
B: I think Shakira is great.
A: and what about you?
B: I think I am fantastic.
Situation 2:
There are a lot of fantastic shops in Bogot.
There are some good museums in Barranquilla.

Situation 3:
A: Who is the oldest person in your family?
B: Grandpa Julio is the oldest and I am the youngest person in my family.
Situation 4:
A: Can I have a small coffee, please?
B: Sorry, we only have a big coffee.
Situation 5:
A: Hello, is this museum open?
B: No, we are closed.

Learn

Adjectives position in a sentence

In English, adjectives can be placed: 1. After the verb to be or 2. Before the noun.
1. After the verb to be:
Its really beautiful.
Her car is very fast.
This Museum is really nice.
Structure
Pronoun + verb to be + adjective
Attention: Sometimes they are accompanied by very and really.

2. Before the noun:

We use a / an or a possessive adjective before the adjective.
Its an expensive house.
Its a very slow car.
She is my new girlfriend.
Expensive, slow and new go before nouns: house, car and girlfriend.
When you have several adjectives in English, the order is the following:

Example:

1
Size

2
Color

3
Material

long

blue

cotton

Some adjectives are numerals

They indicate the exact number of a noun (do not confuse with adverbs). They are
ordinals (first, second, ) cardinals (one, two, .) fractional (a half, a third, .)
and multiplicative (double, triple, ).
Example:
The second twins are Michelle and Lucia.
This is the first leg of our trip.
Your seat is the third on the left.
Comparatives and superlatives
Adjectives have three degrees: the normal (positive), the comparative and the
superlative.
Normal: fast
Comparatives:
Of superiority: faster than / Antonio is more athletic than Victor.
Of inferiority: less fast than / That car is less fast than that one.
Of equality: as fast as / Michelle is as clever as Lucia.

Superlatives: the fastest. These adjectives do not compare, they only express
characteristics in their higher level. Example: She is the tallest in the Cortez family
/He is the best in math.
Then, to form comparative and superlative adjectives, we have to follow some
rules:
1. If adjectives are short words or one syllable words:
To compare, we add the adjective at the end of the word er, and to form
superlatives, we add est at the end of the word.
Example: the faster and the fastest.
2. If adjectives end in y or are two syllable words:
Example:

Adjective easy
Comparative easier
Superlative easiest

3. If adjectives are large words, two or more syllables:

Example:

Adjective beautiful
Comparative more beautiful than
Superlative the most beautiful

It means that in the comparative sentence, we add before the adjective the word
more and for the superlative we add before the adjective the words the most.
To finish, there is a series of adjectives to which those rules are not applicable
because they are irregular, which are the following:
Adjective

Comparative

Superlative

Good

Better

The best

Bad
Far
Old
Many/Much
Little

Worse
Farther/Further
Older/Eldest
More
Less

The worst
The farthest/The furthest
The oldest/ the eldest
The most
The least

English quantifiers
Quantifiers are those words that are used to express the number of people,
animals or object, and any noun.
Some / a lot of / any
We use some and a lot of in affirmative sentences and in plural sentences.
A lot of = a large number.
There are some books on the table.
There are a lot of people at the stadium.
We use any in negative sentences, questions and plural sentences.
There arent any good museums in my city.
Are there any beers in the fridge?

Pronunciation

In English, we can observe many words that start or end with the letters: th. Those
sounds are symbolized with :
Listen and watch the video of the sound , in the following link:
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/pronunciation/mp4/con_vo
iceless_6.mp4
Listen and watch the video of the sound , in the following link:
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/pronunciation/mp4/con_vo
iced_6.mp4

Repeat:

Think / three / thirty / theatre

There / This / The / That / Mother

Vocabulary
Slow
Open
Bad
Old
Small
Expensive
Hot
Fast
Cheap
Big
Closed
Good
Cold

Remember
Quantifiers vary according to the noun, which can classify in countable and
uncountable noun.
Uncountables
Much
So much
Too much

Countables
Many
So many
Too many

Little
A little
Less
The least

Few
A few
Fewer
The fewest

4. Exercising
Exercise 1:
Write the following sentences in order:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

blue /is/fast/a/It/car/American _____________________________.

attractive/girl/young/is/She/an _____________________________.
tall/good-looking/A/blond/man _____________________________.
square/tablet/wooden/big/A _______________________________.
new/An/spanish/interesting/ _______________________________.

Choose the correct answer in each sentence:

1. How______money do you have to pay the magazine?
a) many
b) any
c) much
2. Do you have_______water,please?
a) some
b) much
c) little
3. There are_________apples on the table.
a) much
b) some
c) any
4. How__________flowers do you have?
a) much
b) little
c) many

5. Mary-Anne has_______friends.
a) much
b) any
c) a lot of
Exercise 2:
Write the comparative form of the adjective
1. Your drawing is_________ (good) than mine.
2. Id like to have a___________ (fast) car. The one I have is slow.
3. My brother is____________ (athletic) than you.
4. Last friday the weather was hot. Today is______ (cold) than last friday.
Which is correct?
1. We have _____________sister who lives in Texas.
a) an older
b) more old
2. Was the show _____________than the film?
a) bad
b) worst
3. It is a beautiful apartment. _____________apartment in the neighborhood.
a) The nice
b) The nicest
4. Last year I gave to my daughter _____________ gift.
a) the more beautiful
b) the most beautiful

5. Producing

In this space, you will answer the

questions by writing and recording your
voice.
This activity is available at the button
Activities / Learning Activity 1 / Evidence:
Presenting my city.

6. Test

In this space, you will present a test.

This test is available at the button:
Activities / Learning Activity 1 / Evidence:
Test What a family!

References
BBC. (s.f.). Pronunciation tips from bbclearningenglish.com. Consultado el 4 de
noviembre
de
2013,
en
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/pronunciation/mp4/con_
voiceless_6.mp4
BBC. (s.f.). Pronunciation tips from bbclearningenglish.com. Consultado el 4 de
noviembre
de
2013,
en
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/pronunciation/mp4/con_
voiced_6.mp4

Document control
Name
Author

Charge

Dependence

Date

Andrs Rafael
Flrez Salas

Experto temtico

Centro de Comercio y
Servicios.
Regional Atlntico

November
2013

Andrs Felipe
Velandia Espitia

Guionista - Lnea
de produccin

Centro Agroindustrial.
Regional Quindo

November
2013

Rachman
Bustillo Martnez

Guionista - Lnea
de produccin

Centro Agroindustrial.
Regional Quindo

November
2013

Adaptation