Mansion Ingles Podcast August 2013 - Aprende gramatica y vocabulario ingles

Aprender ingles y mejora tú gramatica, vocabulario y pronunciacion con lecciones, ejemplos y ejercicios.

Learn English with La Mansion del Ingles. Lessons to improve your grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation.

Hello once again and welcome to another Mansion Ingles podcast. This is podcast number 64 recorded for August 2013.

Este mes, en el nivel básico practicamos los negativos de las frases en la gramática y los contrarios (opposites) en el vocabulario.

En el nivel intermedio enfocamos en could, can y be able to y por vocabulario tenemos una seleción de confusing words; algunas palabras que se puede confundir.

In the advanced section, we practise more advanced collocations, and there's business vocabulary as usual, and a translation exercise all to help you improve your English and take it to the next level.

En los podcasts mensuales hablamos de los temas, vocabulario y ejercicios que salen en nuestro cuaderno mensual. Así podáis practicar la pronunciación y repasar el material del cuaderno. Si quieres recibir gratis el cuaderno cada mes, ver la trascripción de este podcast o leer los anteriores, vete a mansioningles.com y sigue los enlaces en la página principal.

Ok, let's start then with el nivel básico. y las frases negativas. Voy a decir algunas frases en afirmativo y tú tienes que decirlo en negativo. Por ejemplo, si digo "He likes football", tú dices "He doesn't like football". OK? Luego, y como siempre, repite la frases para practicar la pronunciación. Ready? - ¿Listo?

They speak English very well. - They don’t speak English very well. También puedes decir They do not speak English very well, pero en el inglés informal y en el inglés hablado es mucho más común hacer la contracción don't - do not = don't. Repite: don't - they don't - They don't speak English.

She smokes cigars. - She doesn’t smoke cigars. Recuerda que la tercera persona he, she y it, el negativo es doesn't o sea does not. La contracción es doesn't - Repite: doesn't - She doesn’t smoke cigars.

He works in a hotel. He doesn’t work in a hotel. - Repite: He doesn’t work in a hotel.

She has three jobs. She doesn’t have three jobs. - Repite: She doesn’t have three jobs.

He goes to work by bus. He doesn't go to work by bus. - Repite: He doesn't go to work by bus

Very good! ¡Muy bien! Ahora, continuamos con los contrarios de algunas palabras en inglés. Voy a decir las palabras y tú intenta decir los contrarios antes que los digo yo. Luego, repitalos para practicar la pronunciación.

win - lose

lend - borrow

go - come

win - lose

leave - arrive

miss (a bus, a train etc) - catch

learn - teach

open - close

buy - sell

Ok, moving on to the intermediate section, we practised the grammar of can, could and be able to. 'Can' and 'could' are modal verbs and are often used to speak about ability, in the case of can, and past ability in the case of could. 'Be able to' is also used to talk about ability, and with 'be able to' you can talk about ability and possibility in the future. For example, "Next year we'll be able to go on holiday", or "Will you be able to come for dinner with us on Saturday?"

Listen and repeat some more examples with can, could and be able to.

We won't be able to go, I'm sorry. Repeat: I'm sorry. - able to go - We won't be able to go - We won't be able to go, I'm sorry.

I could speak French when I was younger. Repeat: younger. - when I was - when I was younger. - I could speak French - I could speak French when I was younger.

I can't now. Repeat: I can't now. Fíjate que con el negativo can't, no se oye muy bien la 't' final. can't - I can't now. Pues, es más efectivo enfocar en el sonido vocal /ɑ:/ el la palabra can't. Es más largo que el sonido vocal en la forma positiva can /æ/. Escucha: /ɑ:/ can't /æ/ can. Cuando el can está en el principio de una frase o en medio, el sonido vocal es más débil aun. Muchas veces se oye /ə/ /kən/ Repeat: Can you hear me? Yes, I can hear you, and I can see you. Repeat: Can you hear me? Can you see me? Can you speak Spanish? Pero cuando el can está en una respuesta corta, normalmente lleva el sonido /æ/ can - Yes, I can. Repeat: yes, I can. Can you speak Spanish? Yes, I can. Can you speak German? No, I can't. can - can't.

Can you swim? Repeat: Can you swim? Yes, I can.

I couldn't speak to him. Repeat: speak to - speak to him - I couldn't - I couldn't speak to him.

I'm sorry, I can't help you. Repeat: help you. - I can't help you. - I'm sorry, I can't help you.

Were you able to see her? Repeat: see her - able tə - able to see her - Were yə - were - yə - Were yə - Were you able to see her?

I couldn't agree with you more. Repeat: couldn't - couldn't agree - I couldn't agree - I couldn't agree with you more.

Can you do me a favour? Repeat: favour - a favour - do me a favour - Can you do me a favour? - could you - Could you do me a favour? 'Could' is a bit more polite than 'can', but the intonation often shows more politeness than the words you use. Listen: Can you do me a favour? That's polite because of the intonation. Repeat: Can you do me a favour?

I used to be able to run fast. Repeat: used tə - I used tə - be able tə - I used tə be able tə - I used to be able to run fast.

We can't meet you until next week. Repeat: next week - until next week - We can't meet you - meet you. Fíjate como al unir el 'meet' y el 'you', el sonido cambia - meet you - meechu - repeat: meechu - We can't - We can't meet you - We can't meet you until next week.

Have you been able to finish the estimate? Repeat: estimate (presupuesto) - the estimate - finish the estimate - able tə - able tə finish - able to finish the estimate - Have you bin - Have you been able tə - Have you been able to finish the estimate? - Have you been able to finish the estimate?

I've never been able to understand you. Repeat: understand you - bin able tə - bin able tə understand you - I've never bin - I've never been able to understand you.

Very good! ¡Muy bien! That's fantastic or, as they say in London, fan-bloody-tastic!

Moving on to vocabulary in the intermediate section and we had some more confusing words: disapproved, object, denied, disagree, rejected and refused. Listen and repeat some examples:

They rejected the plans. to reject - rechazar. Rejected - rechazado. Repeat: rejected. They rejected the plans. The plans have been rejected.

She denied cheating in the exam. After the verb to deny (negar) use a gerund. Repeat: She denied cheating - He denied stealing the money - I denied breaking the glass.

Her parents disapproved of her going out with a married man. If you disapprove of something you think that it is bad. Ver lo con malos ojos o estar en contra. Notice the preposition of with disapprove. Repeat: to disapprove of - They disapproved of the marriage. I strongly disapprove of your behaviour. My parents disapprove of me. They've always disapproved of me. Only joking mum! My mum listens to this podcast, so I have to be careful about what I say!

We object to working extra hours. Notice the preposition to. Object to. Repeat: We object to working extra hours. - We object to getting less money. - I objected to working on Saturday.

I disagree with people who want to legalize cannabis. Actually, that's not true, but it's only an example. Notice the preposition with - to disagree with. Repeat: I disagree with you. - I'm sorry, I have to disagree with you. - I'll have to disagree with you on that. - Do you disagree with me?

Listen: Pepito refused to accept my offer of 6000 Euros per month. After the verb to refuse, use the infinitive form of the verb. Repeat: He refused to accept. - We refused to go. - I refused to work for them. - Will you refuse to accept their offer?

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Siempre me ha gustado la idea de aprender inglés con video. ¡Es entretenido! It's fun! Los videos de ABA English son muy profesionales y están muy bien hechos.

Los cortometrajes, con situaciones de la vida real, son la base de cada unidad del curso de inglés. Llevan incorporada la tecnología de reconocimiento de voz propia.

Las 144 Videoclases con profesores nativos Britanico/americano explican muy bien la gramática. En mi opinion como profesor, los módulos están muy bien diseñados.

El problema con muchos videos en YouTube para aprender inglés es que no están hechos por buenos profesores; tienen mal sonido, mal hechos incluso hay algunos que llevan errores gramáticales y te van a enseñar mal! No vale la pena aprender con ellos!

Echa un vistazo (have a look) a los videos de ABA English.com. Look at the free videos. Puedes empezar los cursos gratis sin coste algúno y además con apoyo en español.

Al empezar, tienes que facilitar una dirrecion de email, y contestar algunas preguntas básicas, pero no es necesario que realices ningún pago, y yo siempre pienso que si una empresa te ofrecen un producto gratis para probarlo, es por que es bueno y que la empresa crean en sus productos. Es una garantia de la calidad.

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In the advanced section, we looked at some more collocations. The first of which was to come to an end which really means to end or to finish. All it's doing is changing the verb to end into a noun and adding the verb to come. To come to an end.

Repeat: to come to an end. What time did the meeting come to an end?

To crack your knuckles is to deliberately pull your fingers so that they make a short loud sound. Knuckles in Spanish are nudillos. Some people find this noise really annoying. My sister does and so, of course, when I was young I would do it on purpose just to annoy her, especially when we were watching TV together. I used to crack my knuckles.

Next was to bear something (or someone) in mind which means to remember and think about someone or something. For example, bearing in mind that she's had so little experience, I thought she did very well. Repeat: to bear in mind. Please bear this in mind. You can also say keep in mind. Please keep this in mind. Remember this.

To come down on (someone) is to criticize someone or something. Also to insult or tease someone. Why are you coming down on me like that? Stop coming down on me all the time. Repeat: To come down on. Stop coming down on me.

If something comes to nothing it amount to nothing. It's worthless (Quedar en la nada). All my hard work has come to nothing. Repeat: to come to nothing. I've worked on this webpage for nearly 20 years and it's all come to nothing! We had high hopes, but, at the end of the day, the project has come to nothing.

If you come up against a brick wall you are not able to continue an activity or do something you want to. Repeat: to come up against a brick wall, or to be up against a brick wall. Pepito wants to leave home, but he can't find a job. He's up against a brick wall.

A grudge is resentimiento o rencor, and if you bear (someone) a grudge/a grudge against (someone) or hold a grudge against someone it's guadarle rencor a alguien. Repeat: to bear a grudge - to hold a grudge. She still bears a grudge against me after all these years. Do you hold any grudges against ex-boyfriends or girlfriends? I used to hold a grudge against an old friend of mine who stole my girlfriend from me many years ago. Yes, you know who you are Paul! But, after all these years I bear no grudge against him, or my ex-girlfriend, and I wish them well. Life's too short to bear grudges, don't you think? Repeat: To bear a grudge against someone.

Another collocation with the verb to bear is to bear a resemblance (to someone / something). This means to have a degree of similarity to someone or something. Repeat: Resemblance - to bear a resemblance. This bike bears a strong resemblance to the one I had stolen last month. Don't you think that man over there bears a resemblance to your brother?

To bear with means to be patient with (aguantar con). Repeat: bear with me. Please bear with me for a second. Just bear with me, this will only take a minute.

Moving on to collocations with crack. We had crack you knuckles before, there's also to crack a joke which means simply to tell a joke. Repeat: to crack a joke. She's always cracking jokes. He cracked a joke in the middle of the meeting.

If you are working really hard or if you are under a lot of pressure or stress you could crack under the strain. This means you have a mental or emotional collapse. He was working 80 hours a week at the office and he finally cracked under the strain. Repeat: to crack under the strain. If she carries on like that, she'll crack under the strain.

Listen to the collocations and expressions again and repeat them:

come to an end

crack your knuckles

bear something in mind

come down on (someone)

come to nothing

come up against a brick wall.

bear (someone) a grudge / a grudge against (someone)

bear a resemblance (to someone / something)

crack a joke

crack under the strain.

bear with (someone)

Good, OK. Moving on to the Business English section we looked at some more business English vocabulary, and the first expression was the way I see it. la manera en que lo veo, or la manera como yo lo veo. It's a similar expression to "from my point of view" - desde mi punto de vista. Repeat: The way I see it.....From my point of view. The way I see it, we should focus on our overseas markets. From my point of view we're wasting our time.

Your input in a discussion is your contribution of information or a comment or viewpoint. For example, I'd like to hear your input on this. Can we get his input before we make a decision? Repeat: We need your input on this. I really value your input.

To make a point es decir algo importante. To say something significant. Repeat: You make a good point. He made a good point when he said that.

The phrasal verb to lay off means despedir and unfortunately we are hearing about too many people being laid off these days. Repeat: He was laid off from work. When will companies stop laying people off?

I agree with you up to a point. Up to a point means hasta cierto punto. Repeat: up to a point. I agree up to a point.

The next steps was the final expression. Steps are pasos. So the next steps are los siguientes pasos. What are the next steps? What exactly do we do next? Repeat: The next steps. What are the next steps? What are the next steps on this project?

We also gave you some more sentences to translate in this month's cuaderno. First, you had to translate from English to Spanish. So, I'll say the English sentences and you can say the Spanish translation. Then, repeat the English sentence after me to practise pronunciation. Ready?

The washing machine is broken. - La lavadora está rota. Repeat: washing machine - The washing machine - The washing machine's broken

Are you losing money? - ¿Estáis perdiendo dinero? Repeat: Are you losing money?

We’ve been losing money for two years. - Estamos perdiendo dinero desde hace dos años. Repeat: for two years - losing money - losing money for two years - We’ve been - We’ve been losing money for two years.

The handle is broken. - El asa está rota. Repeat: handle - The handle's broken.

I slept like a log. - Dormí como un tronco. Repeat: a log - I slept like a log

Good, now I'll read some Spanish sentences and you translate to English. Then repeat the sentences after me to practise your pronunciation. OK?

No deberías haberte dormido. - You shouldn’t have fallen asleep. Repeat: fallen asleep - shouldn’t have - You shouldn’t have - You shouldn’t have fallen asleep.

No lo pude evitar. - I couldn’t help it. Repeat: help it - I couldn’t help it.

Eso es lo que me gusta oír. - That’s what I like to hear. Repeat: That’s what I like to hear.

Esto es aburrido. - This is boring. Repeat: This is boring.

Quien quiera que hizo esto, realizó un buen trabajo. - Whoever did this did a good job.

Well, that's all we have time for on this podcast, but we'll be back with you next month as usual with another podcast based on our monthly newsletter, our cuaderno de inglés mensual. Remember, you can listen to all our previous podcasts at mansioningles.com and on iTunes.

Si te gusta este podcast, puedes hacernos un gran favor y escribe una corta reseña en iTunes. Si escribes una reseña en iTunes más personas pueden escucharnos porque subimos en el 'ranking' de iTunes. y también puedes darnos algunas estrellas, si te gusta nuestros podcasts.

Thank you very much for listening to this podcast, and for being part of the community of La Mansión del Inglés.

Remember, If you want to contact us you can find us on Facebook. Just search Facebook for La Mansión del Inglés and join our growing community of more than 25,000 fans. Or send me an email to: mansionteachers@yahoo.es. You can also follow us on Twitter. Our Twitter name is MansionTwit.

Puedes ver el cuaderno mensual de este mes, y todos los cuadernos anteriores en cuadernodeingles.com/

Until next month then, keep practising and taking your English to the next level! Take care and bye for now!

The music in this month’s podcast is by Revolution Void, the album is The Politics of Desire and the track is called Outer Orbit.