Nouns referring to ideas

subject, theme, topic tema, asunto

theory
teora
model
modelo

nature
principle
issue

naturaleza
principio
cuestin

pattern
number

patrn
nivel, cantidad, nmero

Nouns connected with ideas and phenomena

aspect
feature
scope

aspecto
caracterstica
mbito

Nouns referring to ways of thinking, processes and activities

significance
identification
assessment
case
approach

trascendencia
identificacin
evaluacin
caso
aproximacin

perspective
awareness
view
research
methodology

perspectiva
conciencia
visin
investigacin
metodologa

Verbs for structuring academic assignments

discuss
involve
investigate
conduct
consider
illustrate

discutir
implicar
investigar
llevar a cabo
considerar/tomar en..
ilustrar

demonstrate
identify
analyse
support
challenge
examine

demostrar
identificar
analizar
apoyar
cuestionar
examinar

asume
find
calculate
affect
provide
include

asumir
encontrar
calcular
afectar
proporcionar
incluir

Discuss some of the problems involved in investigating attitudes to diet and health. Write a critical review of an investigation
you have read about, or describe an investigation you yourself could conduct. Consider the advantages and disadvantages of
-1
different methods. Starting from rest, an aircraft accelerates to its take-off speed of 60ms in a distance of 900 metres.
Illustrate this with a velocity-time graph. Assuming constant acceleration, find how long the take-off run lasts. Hence calculate
the acceleration.The fact that nations agree to follow international law demonstrates that we can identify ideals that are transnational and trans-cultural. how far is this statement true? Critically analyse any recent event which supports or challenges the
statement. Examine how industrial growth has affected any two developing countries. Provide statistical evidence where
necessary and include a discussion of likely future trends.

More key verbs

develop
desarrollar
classify
clasificar
establish
establecer
account for
explicar

see
present
show
attempt

ver
presentar
mostrar
intentar

In developing methods to explain the significance of health status measures, one can classify ways of establishing quality of life
into two main types.The length of time spent on the tasks may account for the decrease in motivation which was seen in many
of the participants.The data presented in Chapter 3 showed that the age of the subjects was not the main factor.
Political theory attempts to build bridges between different schools of political thought.

Verbs which combine with noun forms of key verbs

Explain

give/provide/offer an explanation (of/for): The model provides an explanation for the differences

between the two sets of data.

Explore
Emphasise
Describe

carry out an exploration (of):

place/put emphasis (on):
give/provide a description (of):

Kumar carried out an exploration of music genius.

The hospital puts a lot of emphasis on training nurses.
The book gives a description of modern Europe.

Adjectives and prepositions

relative to
relevant to
characteristic of

relativo a
relevante para
caracterstico de

common to
appropriate
typical of

comn a
apropiado para
tpico de

Language development is conceived as relative to one's own past performance. How can we make science relevant to
environmental policy? Poor communication between scientists is characteristic of the situation today. Some of the responses to
the questionnaire were specific to young respondents. Others were common to all the respondents. We need to plan
technologies which are appropriate to the needs of small farmers. It was typical of the farmers in the study that they had a
negative attitude to technology.

Adjectives and their opposites

abstract
concrete
simple
complex

abstracto
concreto
simple
complejo

accurate
inaccurate
significant
insignificant

preciso/veraz
imprecise/no veraz
significativo
insignificante

quantitative
qualitative
rough
precise

cuantitativo
cualitativo
a grandes rasgos
preciso

We cannot discuss drug abuse as an abstract problem without considering concrete ex. of abuse and their social consequences.
Abuse is rarely a simple issue; it usually results from a complex set of circumstances. Both quantitative and qualitative research
is necessary to gain a full picture of the situation. By combinng research methods, we may obtain an accurate picture of the
causes and results of abuse, in contrast with the inaccurate assessments. A significant amount of fear and prejudice surrounds
the notion for abuse, and the media have a role which is also not insignificant in promoting such fears. The dissertation
concludes that rough estimates of the number of addicts need to be made more precise by properly defining addiction.

Other important, frequent adjectives and typical combinations with nouns

apparent
potential

aparente
potencial

principal
rigorous

principal
riguroso

There was an apparent discrepancy between the two sets of results.We noted a potential problem with the experimental design
The principal cause of the failure was a sudden temperature change.The research used a rigorous methodology

Adverbs that compare

Comparatively/relatively
Especially/particularly
Somewhat (op. Considerably)
Primarily
Mostly/largely
Directly (op. indirectly)

en comparacin con/relativamente
Was relatively / comparatively small.
especialmente/particularmente
Was not especially / particularly difficult.
algo, un poco (ant. considrable) We obtained somewhat /considerably different results.
principalmente
Amir is primarily interested in bio-physics.
en gran parte, casi (pero no del todo) The research was largely / mostly successful.
directamente (ant. indirectamente)
The illness in (in)directly linked to poor housing.

Adverbs that relate to numbers or time

approximately
precisely
frequently
eventually
ultimately

aproximadamente
exactamente
frecuentemente
finalmente /ms tarde
finalmente

There are approximately 20 varieties of bird in this species.

There are precisely 48 different managerial posts in the company.
Interviewees frequently misunterstood one of the questions.
We eventually obtained the results we were hoping for.
Ultimately we plan to repeat the experiment.

Adverbs that relate to how things are stated

essentially
explicitly
generally

esencialmente, bsicamente
explcitamente, abiertamente
generalmente

implicitly
specifically

implcitamente
especficamente

Hall's latest article essentially differs from his earlier work in that it is explicitly critical of the government. Generally, his
disappoval of their policies was only conveyed implicitly in his previous writing, but here he specifiically condemns their
handling of a number of issues.

Adverbs that restrict or limit

merely
simply
hardly ever

simplemente, solo
simplemente
casi nunca

The medication will merely make the symptoms bearable; it will not cure
The exam results were simply dreadful.
The tribe has hardly ever had contact with the outside world.