Aprende ingles con inglespodcast de La Mansión del Inglés-Learn English Free
Lecciones para aprender y mejorar tú inglés. English lessons to improve your grammar, vocabulary and listening skills.

Gramática: Present Perfect

What have you done today so far?

I've had breakfast

How long have you been working on this video? 

You haven't finished yet. He has been working on his video for two weeks.

 

Have you ever been to Disneyland? - No, I haven't.

Have you been to America? - I have. I've been to Maine.

Where have you been to in Spain? - I've been to Sevilla. I've been to Bilbao.

 

Oneupmanship:

Have you ever been to China? No, I haven't.

Have you ever tried my mum's scones? Yes, I have.

to go over = repasar

Estudiar más sobre el 'present perfect' here: http://www.mansioningles.com/cursointer/cursointer06_9.htm

 

Pronunciación: /s/ in words like slippers, Spain, Spanish, special, stop, spelling, stomach, (stomache ache = dolor de estómago)

/je/ sound in words like pleasure, television, leisure, measure (medir) Like the French / treasure (tesoro)

 

Phrasal verb: GET OFF (bajar) - to get off the bus. I got off the bus. Get on or off a motorbike, train, camel, horse, bicycle etc.

To GET OFF WITH something - (escaparse sin castigo) The corrupt politicians get off without punishment.

TO GET WITH someone (ligar) - Reza did not get off with the girl in the cafe. She told him to get lost :-(

 

Facebook page question: Thank you to Calixto Joao Vivas Prado from Monóvar - (to be off = I'm off/I must be off = tengo que marcharme / to be off=caducado "This milk's off"/to go off = "That fish'll go off if you 

don't put it in the fridge." (estropearse) Mandar sus preguntas a: mansionteachers@yahoo.es

 

Reza's Top tips: Think of question words before conversation. Where...? Why...?  When...? How...? Who...? etc

Where do you work? Where is your office? What do you do in a typical day? Who do you work with? How many people work in your office?

 

The music in this podcast is by Pitx. The track is called See You Later - licensed by creative commons under a by-nc license at ccmixter.org.

Si quieres mandarnos un comentario sobre este podcast o una pregunta sobre la gramática, la pronunciación or el vocabulario de inglés, Mandenos un email a mansionteachers@yahoo.es.

 

 

Direct download: AIRC_004_final_cut.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:45pm CET

Episodio 003 - La notas del episodio

 

Gramática: past simple - Use 'did' for questions in the past simple.

Past simple questions:

Did you have a good week?

When did they arrive?

Where did you take them?

Did they spend some time on the beach?

Did they get the chance to practice some Spanish?

DID + the infinitive of the verb (sin "to")

Why DID your parents DECIDE to come to Spain?

to make a fool of yourself = hacer el tonto

You LIVED in London.

¡OJO! - No se pone el DID con el verbo "to be".

Where were you born? - I was born in London.

Were you a happy child? - I was a bad child.

El pasado del verbo modal CAN (poder) es COULD:

When you were young could you run fast?

When you lived in Belfast could you speak Spanish?

 

Pronunciación: la /h/ Hello - how are you - Harry Potter - Have a cup of tea! - have a beer! - have a beer! Hello - 

Hello, I'm Henry - Hello, I'm Henry and I'm happy!  I'm a hairdresser hairdresser - I'm a happy hairdresser - 

I'm from Helsinki I'm a happy hairdresser from Helsinki - Hello, how are you? I'm Henry the happy hairdresser from Helsinki.

 

Phrasal verb TO GET ON 

- to continue (continuar)

- to have a good relationship (llevar(se) bien) I get on with my sister. I get on well with my brother. I get on badly with my boss. 

- to manage (manejar, llevar) How are you getting on with your class?

- (subir al autobus, tren, barco, bici etc. Pero GET IN a car and a taxi) To get in/out of -- To get on/off

 

Colocarse con Craig (Vocabulary Corner): 

TAKE -  take care of (cuidar) look after / proud (adj.) pride (noun) - take pride in (Our mothers TAKE PRIDE IN their houses) - to take the mickey (bularse de algn.) - to take a joke - 

to be taken to hospital (llevar) take to school / take pity on someone (PITY = pena) / To take pleasure (in something) - Reza took great pleasure to ride in Craig's car. To take advice (from somebody) 

 

Reza's Top Tip: Use a Thesaurus for a better grammar range (alcance de gramática)

Example: ILL (enfermo/a) - sick, infirm, off coour, queasy, unwell / BIG (grande) - huge, enormous, giant, vast, gigantic, titanic

Dictionary: http://dictionary.reference.com/

Thesaurus: http://thesaurus.com/

 

The music in this podcast is by Pitx. The track is called See You Later - licensed by creative commons under a by-nc license at ccmixter.org.

 

Si quieres mandarnos un comentario sobre este podcast o una pregunta sobre la gramática, la pronunciación or el vocabulario de inglés, Mandenos un email a mansionteachers@yahoo.es.

Direct download: AIRC_003_final_cut.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 11:01pm CET

Aprender inglés con Reza y Craig

Episode 002 - Las notas del episodio

 

Gramática: present simple y present continuous

 

Pronunciación:

cat / cut

hat / hut (cabaño, refugio)

cap / cup

sack (saco, despedir) / suck

 

Reza's Hot Tip: Learn words in groups/word families. / aprende el vocabulario en grupos

 

Collocate with Craig: Expressions with Make and do

DO

do good / do harm

do well / badly

do (s.o.) a favour

do exercise / an exercise - hacer

MAKE

make a change/changes  /  make a complaint  /  make a decision  /  make an effort  /  make an excuse

make love / war / peace

make a mistake  / make a noise  /   make a phone call  / make a suggestion

make an offer - make you an offer you can't refuse "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in"

 

Phrasal verb: take on (to take someone on - engañar/to take on new staff - emplear)

 

The music in this podcast is by Pitx. The track is called See You Later - licensed by creative commons under a by-nc license at ccmixter.org.

Si quieres mandarnos un comentario sobre este podcast o una pregunta sobre la gramática, la pronunciación or el vocabulario de inglés, Mandenos un email a mansionteachers@yahoo.es.

 
Direct download: AIRC_002_final_cut.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 10:07pm CET

The full audio interview with Craig and Martin.

Watch the video and answer comprension questions here: http://www.mansioningles.com/practica/practicar_ingles03.htm

Ver el video y contesta las preguntas de comprensión aquí: http://www.mansioningles.com/practica/practicar_ingles03.htm

Direct download: Coffee_with_Martin_Podcasat_final_cut.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 6:16pm CET

Las notas del episodio 001 Octobre 12, 2013:

Gramática: present simple (el presente simple)

Pronunciación:  the schwa: When you wake up Monday morning - a - a pen, a book a teacher, a computer, mother sister, father, brother, banana 

los sonidos debiles: los articulos, los pronombres, las preposiciones etc (of - for - glass of beer, a cup of tea/for - is this for me? It's for you)

cat / cut

hat / hut

cap / cup

sack (saco, despidir) / suck

Reza's Hot Tip (consejo de Reza) : Write a sentence with a gap, wait a few days then try to remember the word and write it in the gap.

Colocar con Craig: Las colaciones con make and do

make:  food and drink  / do business and make money (US English How much money do you make? /Earn? - profit/loss? - make a loss / profit

create / physically make: table, furniture,

Do: in the house (except bed) Did you make your bed this morning?

Phrasal verb : take up - Reza explica los distintos significados del phrasal verb to take up.

 

Direct download: RC_001_final_cut.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 11:39am CET

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 65 recorded for September 2013.

Este mes, en el nivel básico practicamos algunas frases con el gerundio, y también tenemos vocabulario de los grupos de palabras - word families.

En el nivel intermedio tenemos más ejemplos del uso de could, can y be able to y por vocabulario tenemos más confusing words; las 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.

Many thanks to Humberto Cordero for your email. Humberto vive en Chile y es aficionado a nuestros podcasts. Dice que ha aprendido mucho con La Mansión del Inglés y quiero decir muchas gracias a Humberto por su email y sus amables palabras.

 

Ok, let's start then with el nivel básico y las frases que llevan el gerundio, es decir el verbo con I-N-G. ¿Cómo se dice el verbo ver en inglés? - to see. ¿Y cuál es el gerundio del verbo see? - seeing. Repite; seeing también puede ser watch. La diferencía entre see y watch es que "watch" es mirar cosas o personas en movimiento. Entonces decimos watch a football match, watch TV etc. Puedes watch a film or see a film - ver una pelicular., pero si quieres preguntar a alguien si ha visto una peli, se pregunta con el see. Have you seen any good films recently? Did you see the film yesterday? Pero si estás mirando una pelicular ahora mismo, se dice watch. I'm watching a film. Repite: I'm watching a film. What film are you watching? Do you like watching horror films? (Nota que decimos horror films y no terror films.)

¿Cómo se dice escuchar en inglés? To listen. Repite: to listen. I'm listening to music. Nota la preposición TO con el verbo to listen. To listen TO something. Repite: listen to music. Listen to the radio. I'm listening to the radio. - I'm listening to a podcast - Do you like listening to rap music?

¿Cómo se dice jugar en inglés? - to play. ¿Entonces, qué es el gerundio del verbo play? - playing - Repite: playing. Do you like playing cards? Do you like playing tennis? I like playing football.

Se puede traducir el verbo hacer a make o do. Pero cuando preguntamos por las actividades y los deportes, usamos el verbo to do. Escucha: What do you like doing at the weekend? Tenemos dos verbos DO en este ejemplo. El primero es el verbo auxiliar do que necesitamos para hacer la pregunata en el timepo presente simple. Repite: What do you.....? What do you like doing? What do you like doing in the summer? Do you like going to the beach? Do you like doing sport? What do you like doing?

¿Cómo se dice nadar en inglés? to swim. ¿Y el gerundio? swimming. Repite: swimming. Do you like swimming? Do you like swimming in the sea?

¿Cómo se dice salir en inglés? to go out. ¿Y cuál es el gerundio? going out. Repite: going out. Do you like going out?  Do you like going out at night? Do you like going out to restaurants? Do you like going out with friends? Of course you do! I love going out.

¿Cómo se dice viajar? - to travel. ¿Y Cuál es el gerundio? travelling. Repite: travelling. Do you like travelling? Do you like travelling by train. Otro verbo que puedes emplear aquí en vez de like es enjoy (disfrutar). La gramática con el gerundio es lo mismo. Escucha: Do you enjoy travelling? Repite: Do you enjoy travelling? Do you enjoy travelling by train? Do you enjoy travelling by plane? I love travelling by plane, but I don't enjoy being in airports very much.

¿Cómo se dice levantarte en inglés - to get up. ¿Y cuál es el gerundio? - getting up. Repite: getting up. Do you like getting up early? I hate getting up early. I like getting up late. Especially at weekends.

Very good! ¡Muy bien! Ahora, continuamos con las familas, los grupos de palabras - Word families. Creo que te he dicho una vez que es un buen idea aprender el vocabulario en grupos, en familias. Es más fácil recordarlas. Escucha algunas palabras en grupos y repitelas.

twenty - thirty - forty - fifty - sixty - seventy - eighty - ninety

teach - teacher - football - footballer - compose -composer       - clean - cleaner - sing - singer - law - lawyer - drive - driver - write - writer

January - February - March - April - May - June       - July - August -  September - October - November - December

have - had - buy - bought - read - read - write - wrote - speak - spoke - see - saw - get - got - make - made - say - said - drink - drank

Spain - Spanish - France - French - Italy - Italian - Germany - German - Britain - British - Mexico - Mexican - Greece - Greek

Ok good, now moving on to the intermediate section, we practised some more examples of 'can', 'could' and 'be able to'.

'Can' and 'could' are modal auxiliary verbs. 'Be able to' is NOT an auxiliary verb (it uses the verb to be as a main verb).

Muchas veces en inglés empleamos to be able to or to be allowed to en lugar de "can". Solo podemos formar el can en el pasado - Es el 'could'. 'Can' en el pasado es 'could'. Si queremos poner 'can' en otros tiempos, hay que usar el 'to be able to' or 'to be allowed to'.

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

I can drive. Repeat: I can drive. - I could drive when I was 18. - Repeat: I could drive when I was 18. - I'm not allowed to drive a bus. Repeat: I'm not allowed to drive a bus

I couldn't drive when I was 16. Repeat: I couldn't drive when I was 16. I've been able to drive since I was 18. Fíjate en la contracción. Listen: I have been able - I've been able. Repeat: I've been able - I've been able to drive. - I've been able to drive since I was 18.

Will you be able to drive? Repeat: Will you be able to drive?

He can play the guitar. Repeat: He can play the guitar. He could play the guitar when he was 10. Repeat: when he was 10 - play the guitar - He could play the guitar - He could play the guitar when he was 10.

Listen: We won't be able to go to the wedding. Repeat: go to the wedding - Won't be able to - We won't be able to go to the wedding.

She's not allowed to see him. Repeat: She's not allowed to see him. She can speak to him. Repeat: She can speak to him. But she's not allowed to see him.

Moving on to vocabulary in the intermediate section and we had some confusing words: We had keen, fond, appeal, fascinated, fancy and interested. Listen and repeat some examples:

I don’t fancy going out tonight. Fancy is more used in British English for the meaning of gustar or apetecer. Do you fancy going out? Repeat: Do you fancy going out? Do you fancy some pizza? What do you fancy doing tonight? Do you fancy seeing a film? What do you fancy? (¿Qué te apetece? o ¿Qué quieres tomar?) What do you fancy? - Repeat: What do you fancy? What do you fancy to drink?

If you fancy someone you are attracted to them sexually. I fancy that girl over there in the red dress. She's gorgeous! I really fancied you when we were at school together.

the verb appeal also means gustar, atraer. That house really appeals to me. Esa casa me gusta de verdad. Nota que appeal lleva la preposición to. Hay verbos que están casi siempre acompañados con una preposición fija. Se llaman dependent prepositions y en el caso de appeal, su dependent preposition es el 'to'. Appeal to - Repeat: It appeals to me. That holiday in Italy appeals to me. It doesn't appeal to me. A camping holiday doesn't appeal to me. I've been camping before, when I was younger, but now I'm older I prefer hotels. I want a comfortable bed. Sleeping in a tent just doesn't appeal to me anymore.

What's the dependent preposition of interested? I'm interested.....? Listen: I'm very interested in astronomy. What are you interested in? Repeat: What are you interested in? Are you interested in golf? I'm not interested in golf at all. It doesn't appeal to me.

When keen is used in the sense of aficionado, it also has a dependent preposition. Do you know it? It's keen on. I'm keen on tennis. I'm keen on cooking. I'm fond of it, I have a liking for it. Repeat: I'm keen on cooking. I'm very keen on Chinese food. I'm not keen on seafood. 'Fond of' is similar to 'keen on'. Repeat: fond of. I'm fond of fish. Repeat: I'm fond of fish. I'm fond of fish, but shellfish doesn't appeal to me. Are you keen on seafood? What sports are you keen on? I'm keen on motor racing, boxing and I'm quite keen on football too. I'm not very fond of golf, though.

Listen: I’m fascinated by astronomy. Repeat: fascinated by. You can also say fascinated with. Repeat: I'm fascinated with this new watch you bought me. What fascinates you? Are you fascinated by technology?

Siempre me ha gustado la idea de aprender inglés con video. Por eso te recomendamos ABA English. Los videos de ABA English son muy profesionales y están muy bien hechos.

Además de las 144 clases gratuitas de gramática en vídeo, también tienes la posibilidad de probar la primera unidad de tu nivel (hay 6 niveles distintos) y realizar todas las secciones de esta unidad para probar su metodología única de aprendizaje. 

Tú aprendes inglés viendo películas cortas con subtítulos, que ya es un método muy eficaz para aprender inglés,  pero también actúas en estas películas! Es muy divertido! En la misma unidad realizas ejercicios de speaking y role play actuando en el diálogo del cortometraje que has visto!

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

Echa un vistazo a los videos de ABA English.com. 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.

¡Registrate hoy y aprende inglés gratis con video, en casa y a tu ritmo. ABA English.com! Pruébalo no tienes nada de perder.

In the advanced section this month, we looked at some more collocations. The first of which was to draw the curtains. To draw the curtains means to close the curtains. Repeat: draw the curtains. Could you draw the curtains please? Shall I draw the curtains? It's getting dark.

Another collocation with draw is to draw the line (at something) which means to set a limit at something, to decide when a limit has been reached or to separate one thing from another. For example, It's not clear where this writer draws the line between fact and fiction. Repeat: to draw the line. It all depends where you draw the line. I think we should draw the line at stealing, don't you?

Of course, one meaning of draw is dibujar. To draw a picture, draw some trees and a house on paper, You can also draw a weapon, a gun. Jesse James drew his gun and shot the man dead in the street.

You can also draw a game or a match (empatar). Madrid drew 1-1 with Chelsea in the Champions League. The match was a draw.

A Lawyer can draw up a contract. The phrasal verb to draw up means redactar. Repeat: to draw up. Draw up a contract and I'll sign it.

If you jump to a conclusion you quickly judge or decide something without having all the facts. You guess the facts about a situation without having enough information. Repeat: to jump to a conclusion. Don't jump to conclusions. Listen to me first. You're always jumping to conclusions.

If something stands to reason, it's obvious, it's what you would expect. Repeat: It stands to reason. It stands to reason he lost his job. It stands to reason they bought a bigger house.

To stand trial means to be the accused person in a trial before a judge. To be on trial. Repeat: to stand trial. He's standing trial for murder. The Spanish politician had to stand trial for tax evasion.

Another common phrase with stand is to stand for president or stand for office. Repeat: He's standing for president in the next election. Why don't you stand for governor?

If you make ends meet, you have enough money to pay for your expenses. To make ends meet. It's usually used when people don't have a lot of money, but they just manage to get by. They succeed in paying for the things they need. Repeat: to make ends meet. - I also work at nights to make ends meet. - I work overtime to make ends meet. - I had to get a second job to make ends meet.

Another strong collocation is to make an impression (causar(le) una impresión). Repeat: to make an impression. She made an impression on me. You can make a good impression or a bad impression. He made a very good impression on all of us.

The collocation have the impression or have an impression means to suspect or sense something. Repeat: to have the impression - I have the impression that she's a bit irresponsible. - I have the impression you don't trust me.

Listen to the collocations and expressions again and repeat them after me:

draw the curtains

jump to a conclusion

stand to reason

make ends meet

stand for president 

make an impression

draw the line (at something)

stand trial

In the Business English section we looked at some more business English vocabulary, and the first expression was to run out of something. This phrasal verb means agotar, quedarse sin algo. Repeat: to run out of. We've run out of paper. Oh no, I've run out of coffee! Can you buy some more wine, we've run out.

I hate running out of beer.

Another expression with run is to run short on something. Quedarse corto de algo. Repeat: to run short of - We're running short of sugar. We're running short of ink for the photocopier. Can we finish the meeting now? We're running short of time.

If you come up with something, you think of something or develop something. Repeat: to come up with. He often comes up with very creative solutions. She comes up with some very good ideas.

It's important not to lose sight of the main point. to lose sight - perder la vista. Don't lose sight of the main objective. Repeat: Don't lose sight of the main objective. - I think we're losing sight of our goals here.

If you take drastic measures you do severe, radical or extreme things in order to reach an objective. Repeat: take drastic measures. - He took drastic measures. - We must take drastic measures to stop this fall in revenue.

There are several ways to say that something has gone down - que algo ha bajado. You can say dropped, decreased, fallen and reduced. Repeat: Sales have gone down - profits have fallen - sales have decreased - profits have been reduced - sales have dropped.

¡Muy bien! - Very good!

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 say the Spanish translation before I do. Then, repeat the English sentence after me to practise pronunciation. Ready?

People are buying less. - La gente está comprando menos. Repite: People are buying less.

This headache is terrible. - Este dolor de cabeza es terrible. Repeat: This headache is terrible.

The pages are torn. - Las páginas están rotas. Repeat: The pages are torn.

They’ve gone/they’ve left - Se han marchado. Repeat: They’ve gone/they’ve left

Do you believe everything they tell you? - ¿Crees todo lo que te dicen? Repeat: Do you believe - Do you believe everything - they tell you? - Do you believe everything they tell you?

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

¿Quién está autorizado para firmarlo? - Who’s authorized to sign it? Repeat: sign - sign it - to sign it - authorized - authorized to sign it - Who’s authorized to sign it?

Su piso es muy impresionante. - Your/his/her flat (UK) / apartment (US) is very impressive. Repeat: impressive - is very impressive - Your flat is very impressive. - His flat is very impressive. - Her flat is very impressive.- Your apartment is very impressive.

¿Por qué no está él aquí? - Why isn’t he here? Repeat: Why isn’t he here?

Le voy a pedir perdón. - I’m going to apologise to him. Repeat: apologise to him. - I’m going to - I’m going to apologise to him.

Jamás he dicho semejante cosa. - I’ve never said such a thing. Repeat: such a - such a thing. - I’ve never said - I’ve never said such a thing.

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 of course 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. Muchas gracias a Marlen80 que dice "Me encanta! Tanto para principiantes como para avanzados. Es muy bueno el contenido". Thank you Marlen80, we appreciate it. And thank you also to nachoycris que dicen "Muy bueno y nada pesado. Sobre todo muy practico." Gracias. Thank you to all of you who are writing reviews.

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 26,000 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 www.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.

 

 

 

 

 

Direct download: podcast__cuaderno65_September2013_NEW.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:04pm CET

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?

Si quieres aprender inglés con vídeos y gratis te recomendamos ABA English.

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.

¡Registrate hoy y aprende inglés gratis con video, en casa y a tu ritmo con ABA English! Pruébalo y estoy seguro de que no quedarás decepcionado. I promise you won't be disappointed.

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. 

Direct download: podcast__cuaderno64_August_2013_NEW.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 8:01pm CET