June 2012

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. Welcome,  and thank you for downloading this Mansión Inglés podcast. This is podcast number 50 (wow! I can't believe we've done 50 podcasts already). This one is recorded for June 2012.

Este mes, en el nivel básico practicamos el past continuous y también te cuento sobre un día diaria de un prof del inglés.

In the intermediate section, phrasal verbs with TAKE and some grammar revision on The Passive.

In the advanced section, some more idioms and some advanced collocations.

As usual there's a business English exercise and many more ways to 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.

So, let's get started - vamos a empezar con el nivel básico.     

El 'past continuous' o 'past progressive' se emplea para acciones pasadas en proceso de realización. Es decir, lo que ocurría o estaba ocurriendo en el pasado.

Por ejemplo: I was having lunch at 2 o’clock. - Estaba comiendo a las 2.

What were you doing when I phoned? - ¿Qué estabas haciendo cuando llamé?

They weren’t sitting in the restaurant when we arrived. - No estaban sentado en el restaurante cuando llegamos.

Se forma con el pasado del verbo auxiliar to be + el verbo+ing

Escucha, I was having lunch - I was (was=el pasado del verbo to be) having (el verbo 'have' + ing) lunch. Repite: lunch - having lunch - I was - I was having lunch. El verbo auxiliar was se dice debilmente. Escucha I was - I was having - I was having lunch. Repite: I was - I was having - I was having lunch.

Se puede emplear el past continuous y el past simple juntos. En este caso, el past continuous se usa para la accion más larga y el past simple para la accion más corta.

She sent (past simple) me a text message while I was waiting (past continuous) for her.

I was having a shower when she arrived. - Estaba duchando cuando ella llegó.

Escucha y repite algunos ejemplos del past continuous.

I was driving to work.

They were talking about football.

She was eating a hamburger.

The sun was shining.

The birds were singing.

He was drinking whisky.

They were shopping.

I was waiting for the bus.

Very good! ¡Muy bien!

También en el nivel básico este mes hemos estudiado un día en la vida de un profesor del inglés. Tal vez sería más interesante leer sobre un día de un futbolista, un cantante famoso o un actor de Hollywood, pero dicen que hay que escribir sobre lo que sabes, lo que conoces, entonces aquí es un día de mi vida. Escucha.

 

            A Day in the Life of an English Teacher

I get up at 7.30 or 8 o'clock and I have breakfast. I usually have cereal for breakfast and a strong cup of coffee.

While (mientras) I have breakfast I look at the news and the weather on my phone.

At 8.30 I sit down at my desk and start working.

I check (revisar, mirar) my email and write messages on Facebook and Twitter.

Then I work on my lessons and correct my student's homework.

At 11 o'clock I have a coffee break and at 12 I go to the gym for an hour to do some exercise.

I have lunch at 2pm and I usually have a short siesta for 15 minutes.

I usually have class in the afternoon and I teach until 9.30 or 10 o'clock at night. I always drive to work. My school is only (solo) about 15 or 20 minutes from my flat.

I have something to eat when I get home and I watch TV to relax for an hour before I go to bed. Sometimes I read in bed until I fall asleep.

Escucha y repite los siguientes frases:

I get up at 7.30

I have cereal for breakfast.

I look at the news - I look at the weather - I look at the news on my phone.

I sit down at my desk. - I sit down - I sit down at my desk

I check my email

I have a coffee break - have a - have a break - have a coffee break - I have a coffee break

I go to the gym

I do some exercise - do exercise - do some exercise - I do some exercise

I have lunch at 2 - have lunch - I have lunch at 2

I have a siesta

I always drive to work

I get home at 9 o'clock

I have something to eat

I watch TV

I relax - foranhour - for an hour - foranhour - repeat: foran - foranhour - I relax for an hour

I go to bed - goto - go to bed - I go to bed

I read in bed

I fall asleep

¡Estupendo! - Fantastic!

 

In the intermediate section this month, we looked at some phrasal verbs with take. For example: take out, take after, take up etc.

If you take out a DVD, you rent a DVD. Repeat: Take out a DVD. Shall we take our a dvd? Do you fancy taking out a film tonight?

If something takes up your time it occupies your time. What takes up your time? Work takes up a lot of my time. If you have a family, maybe most of your free time is taken up by your children. Repeat: What takes up your time? My children take up my free time.

If you are similar to your mum or dad in character, personality or appearance, you can use the phrasal verb to take after. I take after my dad in looks, but I take after my mum in character. I take after her. Repeat: I take after my mum - you take after your dad!

To take off means to remove - Repeat: Please take off your shoes. Would you like to take off your coat.

To take up means to begin a new pastime or hobby. Repeat: take up -  take up photography. I've taken up photography. When did you take up the piano?

If you take something back you return it. I'm taking this back to the shop. Repeat: to take it back - Why don't you take it back? It doesn't work - no funciona. Repeat: It doesn't work, take it back - take it back to the shop and ask for a refund. - Que devuelven el dinero - ask for a refund.

Cuidarse a alguien to take care of someone. My sister takes care of my mum. She looks after her - Repeat: to look after - to take of - Can you take care of my dog this weekend?

Will you take care of me when I get old?

If you don't go to work one day you can say that you took the day off. Repeat: to take the day off - If you're not well, if you're sick you can say I'm off sick - I was off sick last week. Repeat: Can I take the day off tomorrow? - Why don't you take a day off? - I need to take tomorrow afternoon off.

To take up can mean to begin a new hobby. It can also mean to make clothes shorter. If your trousers are too long, you take them up. If you a buy a dress that's too long, you can take it up. You can take up sleeves on a jacket (las mangas) repeat: take up the sleeves. Can you take up the sleeves please? - You can get the trousers taken up.

If a company takes on more staff it employs more workers. That's not happening much in Europe these days unfortunately, but sometimes companies do take on new people. Repeat: take on more staff. We took on 4 new web designers last month.

And finally, if you take to someone you like them. To take to someone - I met a friendly woman yesterday and I took to her immediately. I felt comfortable with her

Repeat: I took to him straight away. I took to her immediately.

Ok good. Now, we also revised some passive grammar in the form of FCE transformation exercises.

So, I'll say the active sentence and I want you to say the same sentence, in the passive, before I do. Then repeat the sentence to practise the pronunciation. Ok? Ready? Here we go.

A friend of mine showed us a great new shop.

We were shown a great new shop by a friend of mine.

They won't allow you to take photos inside.

You won't be allowed to take photos inside.

They should look into privacy on the Internet.

Privacy needs looking into/to be looked into on the Internet.

They grow a lot of rice in China.

A lot of rice is grown in China.

The government took over another bank.

Another bank was taken over/has been taken over by the government.

My neighbour took care of my plants.

My plants were taken care of my neighbour.

They say children are becoming more hyperactive.

Children are said to be becoming more hyperactive

Now, if you’re thinking of taking the Cambridge First Certificate exam, you will need to study at home, in your time, outside of the classroom. We can help you to prepare for this exam with the Mansion Ingles FCE preparation course. El curso lleva 60 horas de prácticas y estudio y ha sido desarrollado por profesores especializados en la formación práctica para la preparación a FCE. For more information, go to mansioningles.com and click the CD icon on the right of the home page. Then click on MansionFirst para ver el contenido del curso. Haz nuestra prueba de nivel de First Certificate to see if you have the level to take the exam. And you can also download course content free to try the course before you buy. If you have any questions about the exam, or about the CD (MansionFirst), just send us an email at [e-mail], or ask us a question on our Facebook page.

There were more idioms this month in the advanced section. Let's see if you can remember the idioms if I say the Spanish equivalent.

For example, what's the English idiom for Nunca llueve a gusto de todos. - I'll give you a clue. It has the word meat in it. And the word poison. Any idea? No? One man's.....meat is another man's poison.

What about, Un loco hace cien. Some thing to do with apples.......in a barrel -  “One rotten apple spoils the whole barrel” - “One rotten apple spoils the whole barrel”

What was the translation of “Penny wise, pound foolish.” - Lo barato sale caro. My grandmother used to say that a lot. Penny wise (wise es sabio), pound foolish (a fool es un tonto/a and foolish is the adjective). - “Penny wise, pound foolish.”

Hablando del rey de Roma...y éste que se asoma. - We don't use the King od Rome in this idiom, we use the devil. "Speak of the Devil - Speak of the Devil (and he's sure to appear)." - Actually, I probably wouldn't say the last bit, just "speak of the devil". Imagine you're speaking about someone (behind their back, perhaps) and suddenly they're right there in front of you. Ah look who it is! Speak of the devil!

Nadie esta contento con su suerte. - Do you remember this one? Something about grass being green - “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.” - That's one of my favourite idioms actually. I think many of us take the things we have  for granted. to take for granted - dar por sentado - Yes we take things for granted. we take our health for granted we take our family and our friends for granted sometimes, we don't really value and appreciate the things we have and the grass often looks greener on the other side of the fence. Out neighbour's car is better than ours. His job is better paid,  and it must be better to live in the US than in Spain.....not necessarily!

Our final idiom is No se sabe si algo es bueno hasta que se lo pone a prueba - the English love their desserts, cakes, biscuits and sweets. This idiom had a pudding in it “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.” To prove the pudding is good you have to eat it - to taste it - "The proof of the pudding is in the eating.” - In the business world that would be something like "Try before you buy".

Now listen and repeat the idioms:

One man's meat is another man's poison.

One rotten apple spoils the whole barrel

Penny wise, pound foolish.

Speak of the Devil (and he's sure to appear).

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating.

Also in the advanced section of this months newsletter we looked at some vocabulary collocation.

To bring up to date means actualizar algo. Have you brought the new manager up to date? Can you bring me up to date on what you've been doing? up to date - al día - to keep up to date is mantenerse al día o mantenerse actualizado - repeat: Please keep me up to date - keep the data base up to date.

pay someone a compliment sounds strange because pay means pagar - pay with money? no (it's a strong collocation) - the words pay and compliment like to go together - to pay a compliment means give a compliment. She paid me a lovely compliment the other day.

If you give something priority you prioritize it (priorizar) - Repeat: priority - give this priority - give this top priority. We need to give this project top priority.

To be able to put people at their ease is a wonderful quality to have. If you put someone at their ease, maybe they're nervous or tense and you calm them down. you make them feel comfortable. The dentist put me at my ease as soon as I sat in the chair. I was nervous before the interview, but the director cracked a few bad jokes and put me at my ease.

If you put something down to experience you decide that instead of being angry or upset about something bad that you have done or that has happened, you will learn from it.  'I'm so ashamed. I let him take advantage of me.' 'Don't be so hard on yourself. Just put it down to experience.'

In the Business English section, we looked at some business English vocabulary.

To make a fortune means to make a lot of money - una fortuna Repeat: to make a fortune. He make a fortune on the stock market.

Another way of saying "he was fired" is "he was shown the door." Do you remember the expression "We're letting you go" That's a soft, gentle way of giving bad news - "We're firing you" or "You've got the sack" - are both direct and maybe brutal ways of breaking the news. To be shown the door is a not very nice way to say the same thing. He was a really bad salesman and eventually they showed him the door. This is the door - use it!

A company that is quite new is often called a start-up, or a start-up company, and it's very common in the hi tech world of the internet, web design, mobile devices, social media and new media. - a start-up.

If a person stands in for someone, they do that person's job on a temporary basis until that person comes back to work. For example. your secretary is pregnant and goes on maternity leave for 6 months. Maybe you bring a temporary secretary from a different department to stand in for her. Repeat: to stand in - to stand in for someone - She's standing in for Maria who is on holiday at the moment.

I have to stand in for my wife and make lunch today, so we'll stop there for now. Remeber you can listen to all our previous podcasts at mansioningles.com and on iTunes. 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 fans. Or send an email to: [e-mail]. 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 www.cuadernodeingles.com/

También tenemos dos aplicaciones para el nivel principiante y el nivel básico a la venta en la tienda de iTunes. Para encontrarlas, busca imansionauto. El precio de cada aplicación es de 2,39 euros.

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