March 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 47 recorded for March 2012.

Este mes, en el nivel básico un pequeño repaso de gramática. Verb collocations and two-word vocabulary expressions at intermediate level. And at advanced level, some more idioms and key-word transformations from the Cambridge CAE exam. There's telephone vocabulary in business English this month, and there's also a dictation, an activity for your children 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 y las frases básicas en el repaso de gramática. Escucha y repite las frases conmigo:

Where is he from? Te acuerdas la contración? - Where is - where's - repite: where's - where's he from? - intenta copiar la intonación: Where's he from? - Where's she from?

- What’s that? - ¿Qué es esto? - repite: What's that? - Intonación - What's that? - It’s an iPod.

We go to the cinema every Saturday. Repite: We go to the cinema every Saturday - go to = /gote/ - /We gote/ - We go to the cinema every Saturday.

Was your dad born in Madrid? Escucha: /wez/ - /ye/ - /wezye/ - Was your dad born in Madrid? Repite: Was your dad born in Madrid?

Is Juan Maria’s husband? Repite: Is Juan Maria’s husband?

Today's hotter than yesterday. - Today's hotter than yesterday. Repite: hotter - hotter than - hotter than yesterday - Today's hotter than yesterday.

- What do they do? - cuatro palabras: What - do - they - do: Escucha: What do they do? - What do they do? - What's their job? - They’re office workers. What do they do?  Repite: What do they do?  

I really like reggae music - Repite: I really like - I really like reggae - I really like jazz - I really like rock music.

I’m always late - I am = I'm - I'm always. Las dos palabras se juntan. No se dice: I'm always, se dice I'malways. Repite: I'm always - I'm always late - I'm never early, I'm always late.

- How much coffee do you drink?    

- quite a lot (mucho) - /kwaita/ - Quite a = /kwaita/ - Quite a lot. I drink quite a lot of coffee - I drink quite a lot of beer - I drink quite a lot of wine.

Very good! - ¡Muy bien!

Vamos a continuar con más frases:

Do your parents drive? - ¿Tus padres conducen? - Acuerdate que padres en inglés es parents y no fathers - Repite: Do your parents drive? Do they drive?

Who's that boy over there? - Who's - who is - ¿Quién es? _ Who's that boy over there? - over there - allá - Repite: Who's that boy over there?

Whose is this phone? - Whose - de quién - Whose is this phone?. ¡Ojo! la pronunciación de la contracción who's (who is) y el pronombre whose W-H-O-S-E es lo mismo Who's y whose - suena igual. Solo el contexto te ayuda distinguir entre los dos. Repite: Whose is this phone? - It's mine! (es mio) Repite: It's mine!

I don't want any cake - I don't want any cake - any se utiliza muchas veces en las frases negativas. Repite: I don't want any cake - There isn't any beer - I don't have any money.

My dad's 65 years old - ¡Ojo! - no dicemos XMy dad has 65 years.X El verbo en español para hablar de las edades es tener - I have - pero no en inglés. En inglés se emplea el verbo to be. I am - I'm 34 or I'm 34 years old. He's 65 or he's 65 years old. Repite: He's 65 - I'm 34. My sister's 28.

I'm hardly ever ill - Te acuerdas el adverbio de frecuencia hardly ever? Hemos practicado los adverbios de frecuencia en el cuaderno del mes pasado. Si los quieres repasarlos o ver todos los cuadernos anteriores, vete a mansioningles.com y pulse en Consulta nuestros cuadernos de inglés en la página principal. hardly ever - casi nunca - Repite: I´m hardly ever ill - I´m hardly ever ill - I hardly ever watch TV - We hardly ever speak English - I hardly ever see you!

What would you like to drink? - What would you like? ¿Qué quería? - ¿Qué quería usted para beber? - What would you like to drink? Repite: What would you like? What would you like to drink?

Paris is more expensive than Lisbon. more expensive than es un comparativo. Repite: more expensive than - It's more expensive than I thought. Paris is more expensive than Lisbon. New York is more expensive than Valencia. Rome is more expensive than Cairo.

What did you do? - ¿Qué hiciste? - What did you do last Saturday? Repite: What did you do last Saturday? What did you do yesterday? What did you do last night? What did you do this morning?

In the intermediate section this month, we practised some verb collocations. I'll read the nouns and the noun phrases and you try to say the verb that goes with them. For example, I say money, energy and someone's life. Which verb collocates or goes together with those three? money, energy and someone's life? - save. You save money, you save energy and you save someone's life.

Ok then, what about a trip, a diet and strike? - to go on. Repeat: go on strike - The workers went on strike, go on a trip - He's gone on a business trip, go on a diet - I must go on a diet next year.

What about; your way, your temper and your wallet? - lose. Repeat: lose your temper - I lost my temper with my bloody computer, lose your wallet - I lost my wallet last night, lose your way - Try not to lose your way.

Ok, next is; a mistake, a mess, the bed - make. Repeat: make a mistake - I made a big mistake, make a mess - don't make a mess, make the bed - Did you make the bed?

Ok, 3 more; a business, a marathon, away - to run Repeat:  run away - He ran away from the police, run a marathon - I'm training to run a marathon - run a business - it's not easy to run a business.

Then we had; the TV, your jacket and a lot on weight - put on. Repeat: Can you put the TV on please? - Put on your jacket, it's cold outside - She's put on a lot of weight you know.

Finally, vegetables, a beard and old - to grow - Repeat: to grow old - He's grown old these last few years. - grow a beard - I think I'll grow a beard - grow vegetables - We used to grow our own vegetables.

Also in the intermediate section we had an exercise with pairs of words that have a fixed order in English. It's interesting that in Spanish you say blanco y negro, for example, but in English we say black and white. It's not very common to hear white and black!

Fish and chips is another example. It sounds strange to say "I think I'll have some chips and fish".

Neat and tidy. In the last exercise we had the expression to make a mess - hacer un lio. If you make a mess you are not being tidy. You are being very untidy, very messy. I like things to be neat and tidy. A place for everything and everything in its place. Repeat: neat and tidy. My flat is neat and tidy. My desk is neat and tidy, my wardrobe is neat and tidy, my drawers (mis cajónes) - my drawers are neat and tidy. God, it must be a nightmare to live with me. I'm so neat and tidy.

Pros and cons - the advantages and disadvantages - Repeat: pros and cons - the positive things and the negative things. We speak about the pros and cons of a situation. Repeat: What are the pros and cons?

Gin and tonic - that's and easy one. In fact, the spirit is said first in mixed drinks the same as in Spanish. So you ask for a vodka and orange juice, a Bacardi and coke, a whisky and dry ginger etc.

Trial and error - try something, make a mistake and learn from the mistake. Repeat: trial and error - I learnt by trial and error.

Peace and quiet - I go to the countryside for some peace and quiet. Repeat: peace and quiet. I go to the beach for some peace and quiet.

Stocks and shares - acciones - Repeat: stocks and shares - We're going to invest in some stocks and shares.

Thunder and lightening. Which is truenos? - thunder. Lightening in Spanish is un rayo, I think. Repeat: thunder and lightening.

Ladies and gentlemen is a good way to begin a speech - but we don't usually say 'gentlemen and ladies' we put the ladies first, as you should of course! Repeat: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming today.

It's a matter of life and death. It's really important - It's a really important thing. Repeat: It's a matter of life and death.

And finally, right and wrong. Do you know the difference between right and wrong? I'm sure you do! The right thing to do is to listen to this short advertisement.

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

For example, what's the English idiom for matar dos pájaros de un tiro  - Kill two birds with one stone.

What about, La risa es el mejor remedio. - Laughter is the best medicine.

Da lo mismo (una cosa que otra). - It's six of one and half a dozen of the other. A dozen in English is 12, and half a dozen is 6. So, it's six of one and half a dozen of the other. - Da lo mismo.

El que tiene tejado de vidrio no tira piedras al de su vecino. - Well, you can translate this literally and say "people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.", but there's another idiom that means something similar, and It's one of my favourites. It's "the pot calling the kettle black". Think of a kitchen and years ago on the stove where your grandmother or great grandmother used to cook there would be a black pot (una olla) for cooking and a black kettle (una tetera) for boiling water. Black, probably because of the soot (hollín) from the fire. If the pot calls the kettle black or says that the kettle is black it's a bit silly because they are both equally black and in the same position. El que tiene tejado de vidrio no tira piedras al de su vecino. - It's the pot calling the kettle black.

A lo hecho, pecho -Do you remember that in English? Something to do with milk being spilled (to spill is derramar, verter o volcar) -  It's no use crying over spilled milk. If the milk has already been spilled, there's no sense in crying. - no tiene sentido - That makes sense to me. It's no use crying over spilled milk.

And finally, Mas se perdio en Cuba - Which sounds very strange to me - More was lost in Cuba? Why? If anyone knows the origin or has an explanation for Más se perdio in Cuba, please send me a note on Facebook - anyway, the translation is - It's not the end of the world. - Don't worry, it's not the worst thing that can happen. - It's not the end the world. You can also say "Worse things happen at sea."

Let's look at some of the expressions in the key word transformation exercise in the advanced section. If something is someone's fault, you can say put it down to that person. The disaster was put down to pilot error, for example - it was the pilot's fault. You can use 'put down to' in a question; Repeat: What was it (put) down to? What was the reason for it?

To be under the impression means to believe that something is true. Repeat: I was under the impression I had to pay for these fantastic podcasts. No sir, you were under the wrong impression. They're free!

Don't hesitate to get in contact with me if you have any questions. Repeat: Be my guest - Feel free - Don't hesitate to send me an email.

If there is little chance that something will happen, it is very unlikely. There's a very small possibility. Repeat: There's little chance I'll be having a holiday this year. There's little chance I'll be going away anywhere.

The expression to break down in tears means to cry a lot, or to cry uncontrollably. To cry your eyes out. Tears are lagrimas, of course, and to break down means to lose to control. Repeat: She broke down in tears when I told her. She cried her eyes out.

It makes no difference me da igual, me da lo mismo - Repeat:It makes no difference to me. I really don't care. - I don't care one way or the other. It makes absolutely no difference. - It's all the same to me.

Little did we know Repeat: Little did we know - We would never have guessed - We had no idea - It came as a complete surprise to us - Little did we know.

In the Business English section, we revised and  practised some telephone expressions.

Listen and repeat the expressions:

I’ll get back to you - I’ll phone again - I'll call you back - I'll phone back tomorrow - Can you call me back? - When can you call me back? - I'll give you a ring

To call es más común en el inglés americano y to phone o phone me, I'll phone you o I'll give you a ring es más común en el inglés británico. Pero ambos sirven y todos se entienden.

Repeat: Could I have your name? – Who’s calling please?

I’m putting you through – I’m connecting you - Just a moment, I'm putting you through

Would you like to hold? –  Do you mind waiting? - Please hold the line, I'm putting you through - Can you hold on please?

The line’s engaged – I’m afraid it’s busy - I'm sorry, the line's engaged. English people like to apologise and they are always saying I'm sorry, I'm afraid, please and thank you. - Repeat: I'm afraid he's out of the office. - I'm sorry would you like to hold. -

How can I help you? –  What can I do for you? - Good morning, La Mansión del Inglés, How can I help you?

¿Cómo se dice marcar un número en ingles? - to dial a number. Repeat: to dial a number.

If you dial a number and there’s no reply, you can sometimes leave a message on voicemail.

If you can't hear someone, if they're speaking too softly, ask them to speak up. Repeat: Can you speak up please? - I'm sorry, could you speak up? - I'm afraid I can't hear you, would you mind speaking up? ¡Ojo!, despues de would you mind el verbo es gerundio. Repeat: Would you mind speaking up? Would you mind taking a message? Would you mind phoning me back? Would you mind holding?

If you get back to someone you return their call or send them an answer by email. You return the communication. Repeat: I'll get back to you tomorrow - I'll get back to you as soon as possible - Can you get back to me today? - When can you get back to me on that?

When a phone rings you pick it up. To pick up the phone means to answer the call. Repeat: The phones ringing. Can you pick it up? The opposite is to hang up. Telephones used to be on the wall many years ago and you used to hang up the phone in a similar way as you hang up your jacket or hang up your coat. Now you just press a button, but we still say hang up. The verb to hang - colgar - is irregular. It's hang - hung - hung. Repeat: He hung up on me! I was speaking and he hung up the phone!

If you get cut off on the phone the line goes dead. To cut is cortar, so the line is cut and you have to phone back, or wait for the other person to phone you back. Repeat: We were cut off. - I'm sorry, i think we were cut off. - I'm afraid we were cut off.

Of course, with VoIP - Voice over the Internet calls using Skype and similar software, communication is changing rapidly. Skype is a verb now. I'll Skype you tomorrow. Let's Skype at the weekend. Skype me when you can.

Well, that’s it for this month, so thank you very much for your time, and thank you 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.

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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 was by Revolution Void, the album was The Politics of Desire and the track was Outer Orbit.

Puedes ver el cuaderno mensual de marzo , y 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