November 2011

Aprender ingles gratis con La Mansion del Ingles. Un podcast para mejorar la gramatica, el vocabulario y la pronunciacion del ingles. Una leccion del ingles con ejemplos y ejercicios.

Learn English free with podcasts from La Mansion del Ingles. Improve your grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. This English lesson contains examples and exercises.

Hello again to all of you and welcome to Mansión Inglés podcast number 43, recorded for November 2011. Taking your English to the next level.

En el nivel básico este mes hemos practicado los verbos en el presente. Vamos a comprobar el significado de los verbos.

¿Cómo se dice fumar en inglés? – to smoke. Do you smoke? Repite: Do you smoke? I smoke, she smokes, he…smokes. He smokes 2 packs a day. – 2 paquetes al día. Repite: He smokes 2 packs a day.

¿Cómo se dice trabajar? – to work. I work, you work, he….works, she?....works. She works hard –trabaja duro – Repite: She works hard - she works in a café – Repite: - she works in a café - she works at home.

¿Qué es el verbo beber en ingles? – to drink – He drinks a lot of beer. Repite: He drinks a lot of beer. I don’t drink wine – I don’t drink tea or coffee – Do you drink tea?

¿Cómo se dice “Ir al cine” en ingles?: go to the cinema. Go to – go to - go to work – Repite: go to work - go to school – go to university – El pasado de go es…. went – I went to New York - I went to New York last year - Repite: I went to New York last year – We went to Paris on Holiday. Where did you go last weekend? – Last weekend – go last weekend - Where did you go last weekend?

Escuchar en ingles es: to listen. No olvides que normalmente listen lleva la preposición ‘to’. I listen to music every day. Repite: I listen to music every day. Do you listen to the BBC? You should listen to your mum. – Un significado del verbo tener es have. – I have - I have a new car.

El uso de ‘got' - `I've got a new car' está mucho más extendido en el inglés británico que en el inglés americano. Los americanos prefieren la forma `I have’. Entonces, “I’ve got” en el ingles británico, “I have” en el ingles americano. Repite: I have a new car' – I have, you have, we have, he….has, she….has, it…..has, they….have. They have five children – Repite: They have five children or They’ve got five children. Repite: They’ve got five children. - They’ve got five children.

El verbo To watch es mirar o ver – Watch me! – mirame – repite: Watch me! - My mum watches TV in the morning. Fichate en la pronunciación de la tercera persona he watches, she watches - Repite: he watches – he watches TV - she watches - she watches - she watches TV in the morning.

¿Cómo se dice leer en ingles? – to read – I read photography magazines. Repite: I read photography magazines. – magazines = revistas - I can’t read French. Repite: I can’t read French. - Do you read newspapers? Repite: Do you read newspapers?

El verbo vivir es to live. Where do you live? Repite: Where do you live? - I live in Valencia. My family lives in Spain.

Very good! - ¡Muy bién!

También hemos practicado him, her, it and them. Listen and repeat - Escucha y repite:

Do you like Swimming? Yes, I love it.

What do you think of Lady Gaga? I don’t like her

Do I like chocolate cookies? Yes I love them

What do I think about golf? I hate it

Monday mornings? I hate them

Do you like shopping for clothes? Yes, I love it

Do you like Colin Farrell? Yes, I really like him

What’s your opinion of classical music? I don’t really like it

What do you think about cats? I don’t like them

Do I like getting up early? I don’t mind it

Do you like horror films? No, I hate them

Jennifer Lopez? I love her

Escucha de nuevo y contesta las preguntas usando him, her, it o them.

Do you like Swimming?

What do you think of Lady Gaga?

Do you like chocolate cookies?

What do you think about golf?

Do you like Monday mornings?

Do you like shopping for clothes?

Do you like Colin Farrell?

What’s your opinion of classical music?

What do you think about cats?

Do you like getting up early?

Do you like horror films?

Do you like Jennifer Lopez?

Great! – Now, moving on to our intermediate section this month we looked at Comparatives and Superlatives

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Ok, back to the English and comparatives and superlatives. Superlatives have the definite article the in front of them. For example: The fastest – lo más rápido - The fastest - the oldest, the smallest, the most expensive. If the word is quite long, say 3 syllables or more, use most and least (most=más y least= menos). The most expensive, the least attractive. If the word is short, add –est: The smallest, the nicest, the ugliest etc.

Listen and repeat:

I like you the most. – This is the worst coffee I’ve ever tasted – My phone was cheaper than yours. – Which is the best Beatles song? – Where’s the nearest supermarket? – This jacket is much warmer – He’s the most intelligent person I know. – He’s funnier than you – iPhones are more expensive than Nokia phones. – Of all the cities in the UK, I like Birmingham the least. – I’m better at art than science.

Great! – Ok, now let’s look at some confusing vocabulary. First the differerence between to meet and to know because in Spanish it’s the same verb – conocer – Como se dice “Me algro a conocerte” en inglés – Nice to meet you. Repeat: Nice to meet you. – Use the verb to meet when it’s the first time you meet someone. – la primera vez – the first time. After the first time, after the introduction, you know the person.- Lo conoces – you know them - Here are two examples: I met Maria last July – I’ve known her for 4 months. Repeat: When did you meet her? How long have you known her?

Another confusing pair of words is to lend and to borrow. You lend TO someone and borrow FROM someone. So, the bank lends you money. You borrow money from the bank. Repeat: Can I borrow your pen? - Can you lend me your pen? David lent me his camera. – I borrowed this camera from David.

Next are the two verbs to listen and to hear. As I said at the beginning of the podcast, listen is often followed by to. Repeat: listen to music – listen to the news – Listen to this!

Listening describes an intentional activity. Lo haces a propósito - When you are listening, you are actively trying to hear something.

But hearing is something that happens without any special effort. You can hear something even when you don't want to hear it and don't try to hear it.

Listen: - I listened outside the door, but I couldn't hear what they were saying inside.”

“His story was so long and boring that I stopped listening, until suddenly I heard my name.”

The verbs to earn and to win can also be confusing because they can both be translated as ganar in Spanish. Ha ganado la lotería – Repeat: He’s won the lottery – Él gana más que yo – Repeat: He earns more than me. - Do you earn a good living? - ¿Ganas mucho? - Do you earn a good living?

To look like means to resemble physically – parecerse a – Repeat: I look like my dad – My sister looks like my mum - Who do you look like? He looks a bit like Tom Cruise.

The verbs to wear and to dress can be confusing also. To wear translates as llevar. Repeat: What are you wearing tonight? – He always wears that old brown jacket. – That’s a nice ring you’re wearing.

Dress, as a noun, means vestido and to get dressed is vestirse. The phrasal verb to dress up means to dress smartly – ponerse elegante – Repeat: Are you dressing up for the party tomorrow? Do I have to dress up? – fancy dress es un disfraz.

In the advanced section this month we looked at some words that we can use to describe anger.

To go berserk means ponerse como un loco. Listen and repeat:

I went berserk when I found out. – Why are you going berserk? What happened?

Heated and argument like to collocate. If an argument is heated, there are some strong opinions and feelings involved. Repeat: We had a heated argument about politics.

Cross C-R-O-S-S means angry, enfadado, enojado. To get cross is enfadarse, enojarse. Repeat. Why are you cross with me? Don’t do that or you’ll make me cross – It makes me so cross – me da rabía – It makes me so cross.

How do you say furio en inglés? Rage – R-A-G-E. Rage is violent anger and the expression to fly into a rage means to become very angry. Repeat: My dad flew into a rage. – montó en cólera – He flew into a rage. Why are you in such a rage? – Blind rage is extreme anger – ira ciega - If something is all the rage it’s popular at the moment. Es el ultimo grito – Lady Gaga is all the rage at the moment.

If someone blows their top, they lose their temper. To blow one’s top is an informal way of saying to get angry or lose one’s temper. Repeat: He blew his top when he found out.

Ok, let’s see if you remember the idioms from this month’s cuaderno selection. I’ll say an idiom in Spanish and you say the equivalent idiom in English before I do. Then you should repeat the idiom in English to practice pronunciation. Ok, ready? So,

“Quien la hace, la paga.” - “What goes around comes around.”

“Yo tengo una tía que toca la guitarra.” - “What does that have to do with the price of tea in China?”

“Mas de un cocinero, se echa a perder el quiso” - “Too many cooks spoil the broth."

“La ausencia es al amor lo que el aire al fuego”, o “Apaga el pequeño y aviva el grande" - “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”

“Con un cambio de actividad se renuevan las energias.” - “A change is as good as a rest.”

“A los tontos no les dura el dinero.” - “A fool and his money are soon parted.”

“Las palabras se las lleva el viento.” - “Actions speak louder than words.”

“Mucho ruido y pocas nueces.” - “All mouth and no trousers.”

(I’m sorry about my bad Spanish pronunciation!)

In the Business English section this month we looked at ways of changing arrangements and appointments. Listen and repeat the expressions.

I’m sorry, I can’t make it. – Can you make it tomorrow?

Does Thursday afternoon work for you? Does it suit you? Yes it works for me – Si, esto esta bien - Yes it works for me - Yes, that works.

I afraid I’m completely snowed under at the moment. – to be snowed under – I can’t make it I’m sorry. I’m really snowed under. – I’m too busy – I’m snowed under.

I’ll get back in touch next week. – Can we get back in touch soon? – Let’s stay in touch – Don’t lose touch, will you?

Let’s leave it open for now – Can we leave it open? I think we should leave it open until next month.

How about – How about discussing it at lunch? – How about meeting next Wednesday? – How about having lunch tomorrow? – How about going for a drink after work?

Something’s come up - I’m really sorry, but something’s come up – to come up – sugir – something came up during the meeting – Has something come up?

To put it off - Can we put it off until Tuesday? The phrasal verb to put off means postpone or delay – aplazar – They’ve put off launching the new product. - Han aplazado el lanzamiento del nuevo producto.

Repeat: Can we put off the meeting? – Can we put the meeting off? – Do you mind putting off the meeting until next week?

Well, that’s it for this month. Thanks to all of you for listening. And, 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 fans. Or send an email to: mansionteachers@yahoo.es. You can also follow us on Twitter. Our Twitter name is MansionTwit.

Until next month then, take care, keep practising and taking your English to the next level! Bye!

Puedes ver el cuaderno mensual de noviemre 2010 aquí: http://www.cuadernodeingles.com/cuaderno_mes/versionweb_mesesanteriores/cuaderno_11_nov.htm

Puedes ver todos los cuadernos anteriores aquí. http://www.cuadernodeingles.com/

Puedes recibir gratis nuestro Cuaderno mensual de Inglés aquí. http://www.mansioningles.net/formulario/altacuaderno.asp

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