For most of you, September means back to work, back to school and back to the routine. That’s what it means for us here at La Mansión del Inglés. We hope you’ve had a good summer. Esperamos que hubieras pasado muy bien el verano y que estéis listos para practicar ingles de nuevo con nosotros.

 The first exercise in this month’s Newsletter – el primero ejercicio en el cuaderno este mes – was about the difference between job and work. – la diferencia entre el nombre contable job – “I have 2 jobs”, y el nombre incontable work .” I have a lot of work”. Work puede ser contable en el caso de una obra de arte. The works of William Shakespeare o the works of Pablo Picasso. Listen and repeat some example sentences. Escucha y repite algunas frases de ejemplo.

I’ve got a new job.

The mechanic did a fantastic job.

He’s got a lot of work this weekend. Nota la pronunciación de a lot of - /e/ /lot/ /ev/ repeat: a lot of – a lot of work – got a lot of work – he’s got a lot of work.

Learning English is hard work.

Do a good job. Work well. He’s a good worker – es buen trabajador – He works well.- trabaja bien.

You’ve never done a hard day’s work in your life! Es lo dice mi padre. Hard work? Hard work? You don’t know what hard work is! You’ve never done a day’s work in your life!

She’s always changing jobs.

Does your new computer work with Windows 7? – Does it work? Yes, it works. It works very well. - Is it working now?

How long does it take you to get to work?

Let’s move on to our list of irregular verbs. Vamos a seguir con la lista de verbos irregulares.

 ¿Qué es el verbo leer en inglés? To read Escucha y repite: read – read – read. The spelling is the same. Se escribe las tres formas igual, pero no se pronuncia igual. Escucha y repite:  read – read – read. How often do you read the newspaper? I read a good book last week. Have you read the report yet?

Next is the verb montar – to ride repeat: ride – rode – ridden. Have you ever ridden a horse? Can you ride a motorbike? I rode home in the rain. Repeat: ride – rode – ridden.

Llamar is to ring. Listen; ring – rang – rung. Hay algunos verbos irregulars que siguen estas mismas sonido vocals en las tres formas del verbo. Repite: /I/ /a/ /u/ - ring – rang – rung. El sonido /a/ puede ser difícil por hablantes españoles /a/ - cat – hat – sat. Comparar el sonido con /u/ up – cup / cat – cut – my cat is black – cut (cortar) cut and paste / hat – (sombrero) – hut – cabaña – Pizza Hut. Repite: ring – rang – rung / drink – drank – drunk / swim – swam – swum

El verbo leventarse in English is to rise. Repeat: rise – rose – risen. The sun always rises. Rise es un verbo intransitivo - no va con un objecto directo. No se puede decir: “Rise the sun” o “Rise the table”. The sun rises in the morning. What time did it rise yesterday? It rose at 6:38. How much has the dollar risen this month? It hasn’t risen, it’s fallen.

Next is the verb to run or correr in Spanish. Repeat: run – ran – run. I run marathons. I ran the New York marathon in 3 hours and 14 minutes. I’ve run 13 marathons. Repeat: run – ran – run

How do you say decir in English? ¿Como se dice to say? – That’s it! Say – said – said S-A-I-D said. Repeat: say – said – said. What did you say? I said “hello”. I’ve said all I want to say. What did she say to you? - She said she loves me!

El verbo ver is to see. See – saw – seen. Repeat: see – saw – seen.  Have you seen Brad Pitt’s new film? Yes, I saw it last weekend. I see you. Do you see me?

Next is the verb vender – to sell. Sell – sold – sold. Repeat: sell –sold – sold. What does he sell? ¿Qué vende él? I sold my car yesterday. How many have you sold?

The verb to send means enviar. Repeat: send – sent – sent. Please send the email today. I sent it yesterday. Have you sent mum a birthday card?

And finally, the verb disparar – to shoot. Repeat: Shoot – shot – shot. Who shot John F. Kennedy? También se dice to shoot a film – rodar una pelicula. – How many films have you shot? John Lennon was shot in New York.

¡Muy bien! Ahora escucha de nuevo y intenta decir la segunda y tercera forma del verbo antes que lo digo yo. Ready? ¿Listo?

 read                  read – read

ride                   rode – ridden

ring                   rang – rung

rise                   rose – risen

run                   ran – run

say                   said – said

see                   saw – seen

sell                   sold – sold

send                 sent – sent

shoot                shot – shot

We also studied Time expressions this month– Los expresiones del tiempo

Listen and repeat – escucha y repite:

This month is September.

Last month was August.

Next month is October

Today’s Thursday.

Yesterday was Wednesday.

What day is tomorrow?

Tomorrow’s Friday.

I saw her yesterday morning.

I sent the email yesterday afternoon.

two weeks ago – I rang you two weeks ago – hace dos semanas

last Friday – el viernes pasado – I saw the film last Friday.

last weekend – I didn’t go out last weekend.

the day before yesterday – anteayer – I read the report the day before yesterday.

the day after tomorrow – pasado mañana – I’ll see you the day after tomorrow.

next weekend

next Wednesday – el proximo miercoles – see you next Wednesday!

in three weeks time – dentro de 3 semanas - We’re gong on holiday in three weeks time.

In the intermediate section this month we looked at countable and uncountable nouns. Countable nouns are nouns you can count. Hmm that’s obvious; people, dogs, mountains, hamburgers etc.. Of course, uncountable nouns are impossible, or at least really difficult, to count. Liquids like, water, beer, oil, petrol. Salt, sand, rice etc., are all uncountable nouns.

So, using the examples of peanuts (for countable nouns) and beer (for uncountable nouns), repeat the following sentences and practise expressions of quantity.

There’s a lot of peanuts – There’s a lot of beer

There aren’t many peanuts - There isn’t much beer

Are there many peanuts? - Is there much beer?

There are too many peanuts – There’s too much beer

There are far too many peanuts – There’s far too much beer

There are few peanuts - There is little beer

There are a few peanuts – There’s a little beer

There are very few peanuts - There is very little beer

There are too few peanuts - There is too little beer

There are far too few peanuts - There is far too little beer

There are many more peanuts - There is much more beer

There are fewer peanuts - There is less beer

We also looked at more common uncountable nouns, such as information - I’d like some information. Pasta – Don’t give me too much pasta. Travel – Travel is a wonderful way to meet new people. News – I’ve got some bad news for you. Furniture – I don’t have much furniture in my flat. Advice – Can you give me some advice? and luggage – Why did you bring so much luggage?

In the advanced section this month, we studied some idioms. Listen and repeat:

To beat about the bush. Stop beating about the bush and tell me what you think.

It’s a blessing in disguise. I didn’t want to go anyway.

Do you think you can get your hands on a free mobile phone for me?

I don’t like be the centre of attention. I generally keep myself to myself

We need to clarify the situation. We have no idea where we stand at the moment.

I don’t believe you. You’re pulling my leg.

We need to put all these problems behind us darling.

What’s on your mind?

In the business section we looked at 10 more common collocations that are typically found in business English. Listen and repeat:

To interview an applicant – we interviewed many applicants for the job. You were the most suitable. If you set up a business you start a business. La Mansión del Inglés was set up about 9 years ago. Another phrasal verb that collocates often with business is to take off. We usually speak about planes taking off - going up. Similarly, if a business takes off it becomes successful. The business took off very soon after we had set it up. Now we employ 12 employees and we’re thinking of taking on more staff.

To attend a conference means to go to a conference. He attended a conference on climate change. I’m afraid I can’t meet with you next week, I’m attending a conference.

To hold a meeting means tener una reunion – We hold staff meetings once a month. The union is going to hold a meeting to discuss the annual pay increase.

To provide a service – ofrecer algo – They provide an excellent catering service.

To hire a new employee – to take on a new employee. – to employ a new person – We’ve hired a new secretary.

If you ask for a raise you ask for more money. A raise in salary - Una subida/aumento de sueldo – I’m going to ask for a raise at the end of the year. I think I deserve it. – to deserve – merecer

develop a product - To develop is desarrollar. He’s a  software devoloper - Es un desarrollador de software. Apple are developing a new product. 

To deal with a problem resolver/ocuparse de/hacer frente a/abordar  – Can you deal with this problem, please. I’m very busy. I’ll deal with this problem as soon as possible.- How should we deal with this problem? - ¿Qué hemos de hacer con este promlema?

To run a business – is to manage a business. – dirigir a una empresa – Who runs the business? Who runs the marketing side? I’ve been running this company for 47 years.

Next month we’ll look at 10 more common business collocations.

Well, that’s it for this month. Thanks for listening. Remember to visit our online shop where you can find our business English cd, our First Certificate cd for the Cambridge FCE exam, our audio cds and many more. Just go to the mansioningles.com webpage and click on the cds on the right side of the home page. You can also follow us on Twitter, just search for MansionTwit, and don’t forget to join our growing community of students and teachers on our Facebook fan page.

See you next time!

The music in this month’s podcast was by Revolution Void, the album was The Politics of Desire and the track was Outer Orbit. Also by Azhrak, the track was Below the Arctic Circle. Creative Commons licence from Jamendo.com

Most of you are probably on holiday now. Sitting on the beach listening to this podcast, watching the palm trees sway (balancearse, mecerse) from side to side in a gentle breeze. Maybe drinking a cold beer or a cool vodka and tonic with ice and lemon. Ahh! - Where ever you are and whatever you’re doing, I hope you’re well and happy, and ready to practise some more English with La Mansión del Inglés.

Hola. ¿Qué tal? Espero que todo va bien. No me gusta hablar en español porque mi español es muy malo, y tengo muchas faltas. Pero debo hacerlo y tú tienes que hablar en inglés. OK? Come on! ¿Animo!

 Because it’s holiday time, we practised a lot of holiday vocabulary in this month’s Newsletter (cuaderno). Empezamos, como siempre, con el nivel básico. Voy a decir algunas palabras en español y tú tienes que decirlas el inglés antes que yo. Luego, repite las palabras para practicar la pronunciación. ¿Listos?

ola – No ‘Hola’ – hello, ola sin la ‘h’ – wave – el sonido vocal es /ai/ repeat: wave

costa – coast – sonido vocal /ow/ coast - repeat: coastnadar - to swim

puesta de sol - sunset

isla – island – la ‘s’ no se pronuncia escucha: island - repeat: island     

puerto – port – sonido vocal /aw/ - port - repeat: port

arena - sand

playa – beach vowel sound – sonido vocal – /I:/ repeat: beach. No olvides hacer el sonido vocal largo /i:/ - beach. Si no, suena como bitch que es una perra- or worse!. So repeat with me: /i:/  ‘beach’ – beach. I’m looking for the beach.

piscina - swimming pool

mar - sea

pelota de playa - beach ball 

sombrilla - beach umbrella

gafas de sol - sunglasses

toalla - towel – difficult pronunciation. Listen: towel - repeat: towel

crema solar - suncream  

quemado por el sol - sunburned – suncream, sunburn – hay muchas palabras con sun en la playa. Tomar el sol is to sunbathe – repeat: sunbathe. Be careful – ten cuidado – when you’re sunbathing. The sun is very hot. Put suncream on your body. If you don’t you might get sunburned – quemado por el sol. But if you’re careful, you’ll get a nice suntan bonceado, moreno – Repeat: suntan - to get a suntan - oh and it’s a good idea to wear sunglasses – gafas de sol. Take sunglasses to the beach.

 Let’s move on to our list of irregular verbs. Vamos a seguir con la lista de verbos irregulares.

 ¿Qué es el verbo dejar en inglés? To leave Escucha y repite: leave– left - left. What time did you leave? I left at 3:30. I’ve left you some chocolate cake in the fridge. Don’t leave me. Please don’t go!

Next is the verb prestar – to lend repeat lend – lent - lent. Can you lend me your pen? Los verbos lend y borrow se confunden mucho. Lend es prestar (you lend something to someone) y borrow es tomar prestado (you borrow something from someone). Los dos términos se puede confundir ya que en español se habla de forma diferente "Me prestas tu coche?" = "Can you lend your car to me?" ... nunca se dice "Can you borrow your car to me?"...

"Tomé prestado tu coche " = I borrowed your car. So, you borrow money from the bank - The bank lends money to you (er..sometimes!). Repeat: lend – lent – lent. Can you lend me $10? I lent you 10 yesterday!

Los verbos permitir, dejar se traducen en ingles a let – Repeat: let – let - let. Easy. No se cambia let – let -let – Let me see! - ¡Déjame ver! Her father lets her smoke – Su padre le déjà fumar.

Encender o iluminar is to light – L-I-G-H-T – light – lit – lit. Did you light the fire? – I lit a cigarette. Come on baby light my fire! – ¡enciende mi fuego!

El verbo perder en inglés is to lose – repeat: lose – lost – lost. The vowel sound is /oo/ lose. I often lose my keys – mis llaves. Valencia usually loses to Barcelona. Chelsea lost against Manchester United. I want to lose weight. To lose weight – perder peso.– I’ve lost 3 kilos. What’s the opposite of lose weight? – put on weight. That’s easy for Spanish speakers to remember ‘put on’ – I’ve put on weight.

To make means hacer repeat: make – made – made. It’s made of wood – Es de madera. - It makes me happy. Me hace feliz. I made a cake yesterday.

El verbo significar is to mean. Repeat – mean – meant - meant Repite el sonido vocal /I:/ mean. What does this mean? ¿Qué significa esto? What do you mean? ¿qué quieres decir (con eso)? A student once asked me “Craig, what does mean mean?” ¿Craig, Qué significa mean?

To meet is conocer o encontrar. Repeat – meet – met – met - "pleased to meet you" or “nice to meet you” - encantado de conocerte. We met the verb meet last month with the verb to know. Do you remember? To know can also mean conocer. La primera vez que coneces a alguien you meet them. “Nice to meet you.” After you meet them, you know them. I met her at a party. Where did you meet your wife? I met her at a wedding. Have you ever met anyone famous?

Pagar in English is to pay. Repeat: pay – paid – paid. Did you pay for the beers? – I paid you last week. Has your boss paid you yet? How much did he pay you?

Finally, the verb poner. In English to put. La forma es la misma. Put – put – put. El vocal /u/ repeat: /u/ put –put –put. Put my coffee on the table. Where did you put your jacket? Have you put the air conditioning on? You've put on weight.

Ahora escucha de nuevo y intenta decir la segunda y tercera forma del verbo antes que lo digo yo. Ready? ¿Listo?

leave                left – left

lend                  lent – lent

let                    let – let

light                  lit – lit

lose                  lost – lost

make                made – made

mean                meant – meant

meet                 met – met

pay                   paid – paid

put                   put - put

 el balneario What’s that in English? El balneario. I can’t even say it in Spanish! Help! How do I say this? El balneario — It’s a spa, or resort

bahía - bay – B – A - Y

traje de baño, bañador  - swimsuit or swimming trunks  

buceo, bucear - diving, to dive

esnorkel, buceo con tubo de respiración - snorkeling – to go snorkeling

bloque del sol, crema solar, bronceador - sunscreen, sunblock or suntan lotion

vista al mar - sea view

océano - ocean

tomar el sol - to sunbathe

bañista - sunbather

salvavidas - lifeguard

concha marina - sea shell. That’s difficult. Repeat: sea shell – sea shell

nevera - cooler

marea alta - high tide

marea baja - low tide

And now some useful phrases - Frases útiles – say them in English and Repeat them.

¿Dónde está la playa? - Where’s the beach? La entonación es muy importante en la preguntas. Listen and repeat: Where’s the beach? – Excuse me, where’s the beach?

¿Hay algún salvavidas? - Is there a lifeguard?

¿Es seguro para niños? - Is it safe for children?

¿Es seguro nadar aquí? Is it safe to swim here?  

¿Es seguro bucear aquí? Is it safe to dive here? 

¿Podemos nadar aquí? - Can we swim here?

¿Hay que pagar? - Do we have to pay? -

¿Cuánto cuesta alquilar una sombrilla? - How much to rent an umbrella?

¿Cuánto cuesta alquilar una silla? - How much to rent a chair?

¿Cuánto cuesta alquilar una bici? - How much to rent a bicycle?

Más frases:

Don’t forget to book a hotel.

Have you packed your suitcase.

My friend is a travel agent.

I got a great deal on hotel in London

Travelling during peak season can be expensive.

We like to stay at bed and breakfast places

We had to get a connecting flight.

I’m here on business

I went sightseeing in Liverpool

Is the room air-conditioned?

Does the room have a safe?

I’d like to make a reservation. Please.

Did you buy any souvenirs?

In the advanced section this month we practised some sentence transformations. This kind of exercise is typical of the type of exercise found in the Cambridge Advanced English exam. We are developing an advanced English cd at the moment, and we hope to have it finished before the end of the year.

Listen and repeat:

I wish to express my dissatisfaction with the poor service at your hotel.

There is little chance of us going to Italy on holiday this year.

Pepito asked if I would give him a lift to the airport.

Are you being attended to , madam?

Customers are required to give two weeks notice if they intend to change their booking.

On no account should your luggage be left unattended.

 In our Business English section this month there were two more short exercises on business collocations. Listen and repeat:

To make a profit. – What’s the opposite of make a profit? – make a loss. If your company is doing well and makes money, it makes a profit. If it loses money, it makes a loss.

If your company employs more workers, it takes on staff. To take on staff. My school took on 6 new teachers last month. – They employed 6 new teachers. Do you remember the expression for despedir from last months podcast? Despedir is to lay off staff. To take on new staff and the opposite to lay off staff.

Lanzar in English is to launch. So lanzar un producto nuevo is to launch a new product.

To go into partnership is how La Mansión del Inglés got started almost ten years ago. I went into partnership with my friend, and now business partner, and we started a business together. – To go into partnership with someone

Llegar a una conclusion can be to come to a conclusion or to draw a conclusion. What conclusions did you draw from the meeting?

To bear in mind means to consider, to take into account – considerar, tener en cuenta, tener presente. Bear in mind that we have an enormous amount of money invested in this project.

dismiss an offer. – dismiss here means rechazar. The union dismissed the offer of a 3% pay rise. – to dismiss an offer.

Next month we’ll look at 10 more common business collocations.

Well, that’s it for this month. Thanks for listening. Remember to visit our online shop where you can find our business English cd, our First Certificate cd for the Cambridge FCE exam, our audio cds and many more. Just go to the mansioningles.com webpage and click on the cds on the right side of the home page. You can also follow us on Twitter, just search for MansionTwit, and don’t forget to join our growing community of students and teachers on our Facebook fan page.

See you next time!

The music in this month’s podcast was by Revolution Void, the album was The Politics of Desire and the track was Outer Orbit. Also by Azhrak, the track was Below the Arctic Circle. Creative Commons licence from Jamendo.com