Aprender ingles with Reza and Craig (general)
English lessons to improve your grammar, vocabulary and listening skills. We'll help you take your English to the next level! Lecciones para aprender y mejorar tú inglés.

Adjectives, adverbs, verbs, nouns and proverbs - AIRC74

 

Hay más audio podcasts en: http://www.inglespodcast.com/

If you are a new listener to this podcast, welcome! I'm Craig. This is Reza, and we are going to help you grow your grammar, vocalize your vocabulary and perfect your pronunciation.
With over 40 years of teaching between us, we'll help you improve your English and take it to the next level.


In this episode: Adjectives, adverbs, verbs and nouns, proverbs


Listener Feedback: David from Mexico has left us a voice message and asks about adjectives, adverbs, verbs and nouns


We answered who and whom in Episode 72 ( http://www.inglespodcast.com/2015/10/11/you-and-i-you-and-me-afterwards-after-all-who-whom-whose-airc72/ )

Whoever / whomever - It doesn't matter who. "I will give my clothes to whoever needs them."

"Whosoever" is old fashioned and not used very often, especially in spoken English. "Whosoever" is used in formal English, like in the bible, for example:


"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16


Adjectives, adverbs, verbs and nouns

NOUN - Reza drank his coffee (coffee is a noun)

VERB - Reza drank his coffee (drank is the verb)

ADVERB - Reza drank his coffee slowly (adverb - slowly, quickly, noisily, beautifully)

ADJECTIVE - Reza drank his hot coffee slowly (adjective describes the noun - strong, weak coffee)

 

sly - astuto, taimado/a (a sly fox)


David used the example HELP - verb and noun. What's the adjective? 'helpful' / 'unhelpful' / 'helpless' - and the adverb? 'helpfully'


Study them in a table:

NOUN VERB ADJECTIVE ADVERB

economy economize economical/economic economically

analysis analyse analytical analytically

apology apologise apologetic apologetically

 

There is a table and exercises about this in our MansionFirst cd for the First Certificate exam ( http://www.mansioningles.com/cd_first.htm )

We want to thank our sponsor iTalki. ¡Compra una lección de inglés y consigue la segunda gratis! http://promos.italki.com/ingles-podcast/


PROVERBS - What is a proverb? - A simple and concrete saying, popularly known and repeated, that expresses a truth based on common sense or the practical experience of humanity.
A proverbs are often metaphorical (metaphor - metáfora).

"A stitch in time saves nine."

"Two wrongs don't make a right."
When someone has done something bad to you, trying to get revenge will only make things worse.

"When in Rome, do as the Romans."
Act the way that the people around you are acting. Have your dinner at 9pm in Spain. Drink lots of tea in the UK.

"When the going gets tough, the tough get going."
Tweet This! Strong people don't give up when they come across challenges. They just work harder.

"No man is an island."
Tweet This! You can't live completely independently. Everyone needs help from other people.

"Two heads are better than one."
It's better to work with someone than to work alone.

"Too many cooks spoil the broth."
Too many people together could produce a bad result.

 

...and now it's your turn to practise your English. We want you to send us a proverb. Send us a voice message and try to use as many words in their different forms.

inglespodcast.com - speakpipe or Send us an email to craig@inglespodcast.com or belfastreza@gmail.com. What's your favourite proverb?

 

On next week's episode: More proverbs and gym vocabulary

The music in this podcast is by Pitx. The track is called 'See You Later'

Hay más audio podcasts en: http://www.inglespodcast.com/

Direct download: AIRC74_FinalCut.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:47pm CET

Puedes ver las trascripciones y las notas de los episodios de nuestros podcasts en inglespodcast.com   

You can see the show notes and transcriptions of all our podcasts at inglespodcast.com    

 

Direct download: AIRC44_FinalCut.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:29pm CET

Puedes ver las trascripciones y las notas de los episodios de nuestros podcasts en inglespodcast.com

You can see the show notes and transcriptions of all our podcasts at inglespodcast.com

Direct download: AIRC_016_final_cut.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:37am CET

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

 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 once again and welcome to another Mansion Ingles podcast. This is podcast number 58 recorded for February 2013.

Este mes, en el nivel básico vamos a practicar algunos frases con los verbos, y también vocabulario sobre el tiempo. The weather. En el nivel intermedio practicamos vocabulario de la compra - Shopping.

There are some more idioms to study in the advanced section along with vocabulary about lies and deception. There's business vocabulary as usual, and of course many more ideas and resources 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 so, let's begin then as usual with el nivel básico. En el primer ejercicio del nivel básico, habían algunas colocaciones con verbos y sustantivos. Escucha y repite:

to go abroad - abroad significa en el extranjero. Escucha: abroad. Repite: Abroad - to go abroad.  I go abroad every year. I went abroad for Christmas. Did you go abroad last year?

to buy souvenirs. Souvenirs son recuerdos. Escucha: souvenirs. Repite: souvenirs. to buy souvenirs. I buy souvenirs. When I go abroad, I buy souvenirs.

to rent an apartment. - alquiler un piso. apartment es una palabra en el inglés americano. ¿Cómo se dice piso en el inglés britanico? - flat. Repite: flat - to rent a flat. Apartment - to rent an apartment. I want to rent an apartment.

Escucha: to take photos. Repite: photos - take photos. I like taking photos. Did you take any photos?

Escucha: To go for a walk - nota como las palabras for y a se juntan - go for a walk - Repite: walk - for a - for a walk - go for a walk. I often go for a walk after lunch.

Escucha: to have a good time. Repite: time - good time - have a good time. We have a good time. Yesterday we had a good time. Are you having a good time?

to walk around the town. Repite: the town - around - around the town - walk around the town. We love walking around the town.

Escucha: to go by car. Repite: car - by car - go by car - we go to work by car. I went by car. I like going by car.

Escucha: to stay in a hotel. Repite: hotel - in a - in a hotel - stay in a hotel - We stayed in a hotel - Where did you stay? We stayed in a hotel. Did you stay with friends? No, we stayed in a hotel.

Very good! ¿Muy bien!

Luego, hemos practiacado vocabulario sobre el tiempo. ¿Cómo se dice 'hace frio' en inglés? - It's cold. Repite: It's cold.

 ¿Cómo se dice nieve en inglés? - snow. Repite: snow. It snows in winter. Does it snow in winter? Does it snow in Valencia? No, it doesn't. Does it snow in Chicago? Yes, it does.

¿Cómo se dice, 'Hace calor'? - It's hot. Repite: It's hot. It's very hot. It's really hot today.

¿Cómo se dice very very very hot? - It's boiling! Phew, it's boiling in here! - It's boiling today.

¿Cómo se dice niebla en inglés? fog - F-O-G fog - y ¿Qué es el adjetivo? - foggy - It's foggy - It's foggy outside. I can't see, it's foggy.

¿Cómo se dice lluvia en inglés? - rain. repite: rain. Esta lluviendo - it's raining. Repite: It's raining.

¿Cómo se dice 'soleado' en inglés? - sunny. Repite: sunny - It's sunny - Is it sunny? Is it sunny in Valencia? - Yes, it is. It's very sunny.

 

Ok, moving on to the intermediate section, we practised some vocabulary connected to shopping. Let's see if you can remember the vocabulary if I read the definitions. For example, What's the name of the place, in a clothes shop, where you try on clothes before buying them? It's the...... fitting room. Repeat. the fitting room - Excuse me, where's the fitting room? Can I try this on? Yes sir, the fitting room is over there.

What does the shop assistant usually stand behind? A shop assistant usually stands behind the...... counter. Repeat: counter.

If clothes are the correct size, we say that they.....fit you. If they look good on you, we say that they.....suit you. Repeat: It fits you. Does it fit you? Yes it fits me. - Does it suit me? - Yes, it suits you very well.

What do we call the time of year when shops reduce the price of their goods? This time of year is known as the.... sales. Repeat: sales.  The sales are on in Valencia at the moment. During this time you can very often find good ......bargains. Repeat: bargains. or gangas - bargains - Where did you find that bargain? Repeat: Where did you find that bargain? -  I found it in the sales.

Ok, which two things can you put your shopping in, in a supermarket? Well, if you don't have a lot of shopping, you can put it in a....basket - una cesta. A shopping basket. Repeat: A shopping basket. But if you have a lot of shopping, you'll probably need a ....trolley, a shopping trolley, or a shopping cart as they say in the US. You've probably seen the words "shopping cart" on internet web sites like Amazon, for example. Repeat: basket. Can I have a basket? - trolley - Excuse me, where are the trolleys?

Finally, what's the area of the supermarket called where you pay for your goods? It's called the ....checkout. Repeat: checkout.

Excellent! - Well done!

If you like these podcasts, and if you are learning more English with these podcasts, you can buy full lessons for only 1 euro and 40 centimos from our online shop - nuestra tienda online. Las lecciones están a nivel intermedio (B1). Puedes encontrarlas en mansioninglesdescargas.wazala.com that's: mansioninglesdescargas - todo junto - punto . wazala.com. Cada leccion vale 1.40 euros y dura approx. 1 hora y cada leccion está en el formato mp3 lleva su trascripcion en formato PDF.

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, ser pan comido. Do you remember this idiom in English? It's "A piece of cake.". Repeat: A piece of cake. The exam was a piece of cake. I was nervious before the job interview, but in the end it was a piece of cake.

The next one was más muerto que mi abuela. - "(To be) as dead as a doornail." Repeat. as dead as a doornail. I think I've killed this spider, it's as dead as a doornail.

Then we had the idiom Por los pelos. Do you remember the English? Something about teeth. - "By the skin of our teeth."  or by the skin of my teeth. Repeat: by the skin of my teeth - I passed the exam by the skin of my teeth. They got to the airport late and they caught the plane by the skin of their teeth.

Our next idiom was llevar las riendas. -  "(To be) in the driver's seat." Huge consumer demand for electricity has put energy companies in the driver's seat. - in control.

How do you say "Estar por buen camino" in English? - " To be on the right track."  Repeat: on the right track. Now we're on the right track. We made some mistakes in the beginning, but now we're on the right track.

And finally, Esto es el colmo - Do you remember? "This is the last straw." Repeat: the last straw. It was the last straw.  He came home drunk at 5 o'clock in the morning and that was the last straw.

Listen to the idioms again and repeat them:

  • A piece of cake.
  • (To be) as dead as a doornail.
  • By the skin of our teeth.
  • (To be) in the driver's seat.
  • (To be) on the right track.
  • This is the last straw.

Also in the advanced section, there were some words connected to lies and deception. For example. if you are frank with someone you are honest and sincere with them. For example, "She gave a frank opinion of my work." - "I'll be frank with you." "To be perfectly frank, I don't think it's good enough." Repeat. Let me be frank with you. - To be perfectly frank I don't believe you.

If something is trumped up, it's false or fabricated (fabricado, inventado). trumped up often collocates with 'charges'. He was arrested on trumped up charges. Repeat: trumped up charges. He was arrested on trumped up charges.

Counterfeit money is false or fake money. It's not real. This 50 euro note is counterfeit. The cashier would not accept the payment because it was made with counterfeit money. Repeat: counterfeit money. Don't accept any counterfeit notes. Remember, 'bills' in American English and 'notes' in British English. A 20 dollar bill in America, and a 20 pound note in the UK.

A swindler es un estafador o timador. Someone who tricks you. Don't buy anything from Barry, he's a swindler. The verb is to swindle. They were swindled out of 4,000 pounds. We say that you are swindled out of money. Repeat: He swindled me. He swindled me out of 100 euros.

A more informal way of saying to swindle is to rip off. It's a phrasal verb - R-I-P O-F-F. - Rip off - To rip someone off. For example "He ripped the tourist off." Repeat: to rip off. I was ripped off. He ripped me off at the train station. You can also use this phrasal verb as an noun phrase. Listen: It's a rip-off. Did you pay 70 euros for that bag? What a rip-off! Repeat: It's a rip-off. Don't eat in that restaurant, it's a rip-off. 80 euros for dinner? What a rip-off!

The word authentic is similar in Spanish - auténtico - but what's the opposite of authentic? - fake - F-A-K-E - Repeat, fake. That watch isn't real. It's fake. It's a fake watch. Fake means to have a false or misleading appearance, so a person can also be fake if they are trying to be someone they're not. Listen: I don't like that new secretary, she seems so fake. Repeat: fake - She's so fake.

 

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

Listen and repeat: First thing (lo primero) - first thing in the morning (a la primera hora) I'll phone you first thing in the morning. - I'll do it first thing - The first thing I do is check my mail.

To implement means implementar, poner en marcha - Repeat: implement, to implement a plan - When are you going to implement it? - The contract was implemented after everyone signed.

To drive sales means to push or increase sales. It can also be used as a noun - a sales drive. Repeat: sales drive. Our company is embarking on a new sales drive. We're driving sales online.

To jeopardize means to put in danger, to expose to loss or injury, to put at risk. Repeat: jeopardize - He jeopardized his job -  He jeopardized his job by always arriving late. If you do that you'll jeopardize the whole project.

The phrasal verb to take on can mean to employ (contratar). We took on 5 new employees last month. It can also mean hacerse cargo de - I think I've taken on too much work. Repeat: to take on - When did the company take you on? - She's taken on too much work.

A fire drill es un simulacro de incendio and it's very common to have regular fire drills in British and American companies. Repeat: fire drill - There's going to be a fire drill tomorrow. What time's the fire drill?

If your office has a dress code it means there are rules of acceptable clothing. You probably should wear a suit and tie, and jeans and T-shirts are often not suitable. Repeat: dress code. Does the office have a dress code? What will I be expected to wear? If there's no dress code, you can wear whatever you like, although pyjamas are probably not a good idea.

Speaking of pyjamas, I think it's time for me to go to bed or 'hit the sack' as we say in colloquial English. So, I'm going to hit the sack now, but don't worry, we'll be back with you next month 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 por favor una corta critíca en iTunes y darnos estrellas por la calidad del mismo. ¿Como se dice crítica o reseña en inglés? - Review - to write a review. If you write a review on iTunes (si escibes una crítica en iTunes) más personas pueden escucharnos porque subimos en el 'ranking' de 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 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, take care, 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__cuaderno58_February_2013.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:30pm CET

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.

Well hello again everyone and welcome to this Mansión Inglés podcast, recorded for October 2011.

En el nivel básico este mes hemos practicado el pasado del verbo To be (ser o estar). To be or not to be. That is the question! ¿Te acuerdas como se dice el verbo To be en el presente? I… am, you…. are, he….. is, she…. is, it….. is, we…… are, they…… are. Good. El pasado del verbo to be tiene dos formas. Was W-A-S y were W-E-R-E. I was, he was, she was, it was – we were, you were, they were. La pronunciación del were puede ser un poco difícil. El sonido vocal es /ɜː/ repite: were. We were – Cuando were esta colocada en medio de una frase normalmente se pronuncia débil con el sonido /ə/ Repite: /ə/ - cambia a /wə/. Repite:/wə/- we were happy – we were late – we were early – we were excited – we were going to work – we were living in Madrid! – We were there – Very good. Muy bien!

Ahora escucha y repite algunas frases del cuaderno de este mes.

Where were you born? - ¿Dondé naciste? – Where were you born? – you born – were you born – Where were you born?

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

I was born in a hospital! Of course! – ¡por supuesto!  - of couse - I was born in hospital!

Were you born in Argentina? – in Argentina? Were you – Were you born in Argentina?

Where was your sister born? – your sister born – Where was your sister born?

Where were you yesterday? – Where were you? – I phoned you – Where were you at 11 o’clock? – I was looking for you. Where were you all morning? – Where were you on Saturday night? – on Saturday night – Where were you on Saturday night? Who were you with?  - Who - were - you - with? Who were you with on Saturday? Were you with him? Were you with Paul on Saturday?

Where were you last night?

Were you sick last week? Sick significa enfermo. Repite. Were you sick last week? – Last week - la semana pasada – last week – Were you sick last week?

What was the date yesterday? The date – la fecha – What was the date yesterday? o What was yesterday’s date? Repite: What was yesterday’s date? Was it the 16th? Was it the 17th? What was it?

Este mes también  hemos repasado los opuestos de algunos adjetivos. Ahora voy a decir los adjetivos y tu tienes que decir el opuesto en ingles antes que lo digo yo. ¿Listos? Ready?

High (alto) high – el opuesto es….low (bajo) low

hot – cold

empty – full – F-U-L-L- full

dry (seco) dry – wet

interesting – boring

dangerous – safe

the opposite of weak W-E-A-K weak – strong

healthy – unhealthy o sick

beautiful – ugly

fat – thin

 ¡Estupendo! – That’s great!

Los verbos en inglés, como en otros idiomas, se juntan con palabras y frases específicas. Esto se llama collocation – la colocación. Por ejemplo. Se dice do the washing up (lavar los platos) y no X make the washing up X. Se dice ‘do the washing up’, con el verbo ‘to do’. Se dice ‘have a coffee’ (tomar un café) y no X take a coffee. X, como se dice en español. ’Have a coffee’ – tomar un café.

Escucha y repite algunas frases del ejercicio en el cuaderno de octubre.

Have a beer, have a coffee, have breakfast, have a sandwich, have some pizza, have some wine, have a drink, have lunch with my family, Let’s have dinner on Saturday.

Listen - Listen to music, listen to a song, listen to the Beatles, listen to Snow Patrol, listen to the radio, Listen to me! Listen to me! Please listen!

El verbo ‘to do’. Do the ironing (the ironing - la plancha). Do the ironing - Do the washing up, do the shopping

The verb ‘to watch’ W-A-T-C-H - Watch a film, watch the TV, watch a film at the cinema, watch a football match, watch basketball (baloncesto) – watch basketball.

Go for a walk (pasear) Go for a walk - I’m going for a walk. Go to bed, go to the beach, go shopping, I’m going shopping, go on holiday, When are you going on holiday? - go to the cinema – Let’s go to the cinema! -  go to a restaurant, to go out  is salir. I’m going out – Where are you going? – I’m going out.

Great! – Now, moving on to our intermediate section this month we looked at some word families and some confusing vocabulary. But before that I want to talk to you about our PACK COMPLETO. The Mansion Ingles Pack ahorro completo is a special offer of ALL of our cds at a great price. All 9 Mansion Ingles cds. So, that’s our complete web site on Mansion CD, Mansion Business for Business English at intermediate level, There’s Mansion First for the Cambridge FCE exam. There’s Mansion Travel with dialogues and useful conversations and expressions for travelling abroad. There’s  Mansion Listen for advanced listenings, Mansion Books for lovers of literature, and Mansion Auto 1 and 2 in MP3 audio for beginners. So that’s all 8 CDs plus a free cd of 100 software programs to help you learn English. All this for only 99 Euros. You save 112 Euros, and we pay the postage wherever you are in the world. Now that’s a good deal. Es una oferta muy buena. For more details, and to order the cds, just click the cd icon on the right side of the home page at mansioningles.com.

Now, where were we? Where were we? Ah yes, word families. Now, the word “strong” what is it a noun? a verb? An adjective? A strong man – yep! It’s an adjective. So, if strong is an adjective, What’s the noun? Strength. – S-T-R-E-N-G-T-H- Your strength is impressive Mr. Bond! What are your strengths? Ok, so what’s the verb of strength? - To strengthen. Muchas de estas palabras se forman el verbo con el sufijo en - EN. For example, wide (ancho) – to widen, length – to lengthen – broad – to broaden – short – to shorten etc.

We need to strengthen our relationship.

How do you say sordo in English? – Deaf – D-E-A-F – Are you deaf? I’m sorry, I can’t hear you. I’m a little deaf in my right ear. What’s the verb? – to deafen. If a sound is very loud it deafens you. The noise at the concert was deafening. The noun of deaf is deafness.

What’s the opposite of short? – long. Short and long are adjectives. The noun of long is…..length, with a ‘g’, L-E-N-G-T-H and the verb is to….lengthen, good! What’s the noun of short? – shortness. Do you remember? A shortness of breath. I suffer from a shortness of breath. The verb of short is…..to shorten. Would you mind shortening the sleeves on this jacket? The sleeves – las mangas. Would you mind shortening the sleeves on this jacket? They’re much too long.

Deep is an adjective (profundo) What’s the noun? – depth – D-E-P-T-H. We dived to a depth of 12 metres. What’s the verb? – to deepen. The mystery deepened.

How do you say ancho o ancha in English? – wide. How wide is the balcony? What’s the noun? The noun of wide is…width – W-I-D-T-H. What’s the width of the garage? The width is more important than the length. The verb of width is to….. widen. We’re having our patio widened.

Now, what’s the opposite of strength? – weakness. Weakness is a noun. A popular question in a job interview is “What are your strengths and weaknesses?” - “What are your strengths and weaknesses?”. The verb is to weaken. The earthquake has weakened the bridge. earthquake – terremoto. What’s the adjective of weaken? Weak. She has a weak heart. I prefer weak tea. W-E-A-K - and the same pronunciation as week (semana) W-E-E-K.

And lastly, the adjective high – alto / alta. How high is that block of flats? What’s the noun of high? Height. How do you spell it? H-E-I-G-H-T. What’s the height of that building? Wearing socks with sandals is definitely not the height of fashion. Hmmm…someone should tell my dad that.

Next we looked at some confusing vocabulary. If you have any questions about difficult or confusing vocabulary, go to Facebook.com/mansioningles and post a question. I’ll do my best to help you and answer your questions. If I can’t there’s usually someone on our Facebook fan page who can help.

Apartment is the American English word for piso, apartamento. In British English, we say flat. Flats are on different floors in blocks of flats (or apartment buildings in the US). How do you say la planta baja in English? – The ground floor. I live on the ground floor. I have a ground floor flat. Storey S-T-O-R-E-Y also means planta. It’s used to describe the height of a building. For example, I work in a 30-storey building – Trabajo en un edificio de 30 pisos. How many storeys does this building have?

An advertisement es un anuncio. Sometimes advertisement is shortened to advert or just ad – A-D. There’s a great ad on the TV for the new Ford Focus. A warning es una advertencia. A word of warning, don’t be late. – Una advertencia, no llegues tarde. The verb is to warn – W-A-R-N. I’m warning you!

A speech es un discurso, and it often collocates, or goes together, with the verb make. You make a speech or give a speech. People often make speeches at weddings and on formal occasions.

Advice is consejo. Remember that advice is an uncountable noun in English. Repeat: Can I give you some advice? Let me give you a piece of advice.

Notice is un aviso. Repeat: Did you see the notice on the wall? Notice is also a verb: He pretended not to notice me - Hizo como si no me hubiera visto.

In the dictonary, publicity se traduce como publicidad, pero no confundas publicity con advertising. Publicity se refiere a la publicidad que se consigue sin buscarla. For example, “Accusing this bank of unfair competition has only given them some publicity” - Acusar a este banco de competencia desleal les ha dado cierta publicidad), mientras que advertising hace referencia a la publicidad por la cual se paga: For example, “How much did they spend on their advertising campaign?”, ¿Cuánto gastaron en su campaña publicitaria?

And I apologise for my bad Spanish pronunciation.

In the advanced section this month, the first exercise looked at advanced vocabulary collocation. In the first example we saw the expression “To set aside a few minutes” If you set aside some time, you save a period of time to do something specific. I try to set aside half an hour before I go to bed to do some reading. You know, a lot of people say to me “Oh I can’t do that. I can’t study English, I don’t have the time” Well, a lot of people do have time to do stuff. They need to set time aside. I hate to say it, but it’s true. I hate to say it is another strong collocation. Yesterday a friend said to me, “I hate to say it Craig, but you’ve put on a lot of weight lately.” Yes, I know.” I said, “I must set aside an hour every day for exercise.”

Next was to make a purchase. The verb to purchase means to buy - comprar. I think it’s used more in American English than British. I often hear Americans say things like “I’m going to purchase a mew mobile phone” for example. Purchase is used in British English as a verb and a noun, but it usually has a more formal use. “When did you make your purchase, sir?” – “Did you purchase the item at this store, madam?”

The verb to prove can mean probar, verificar, comprobar, but in the example the expression was to prove yourself. Give me the opportunity to prove myself. “He was given three months to prove himself” - Le dieron tres meses para que demostrara su valía.

The word prompt P-R-O-M-P-T means rápido, pronto. To take prompt action is a strong collocation. Also, “He must receive prompt treatment”   - Se lo debe tratar inmediatamente or sin demora. And, “They are prompt in their payments” - Pagan puntualmente

The last collocation was closing date. I don’t know why we don’t say “ending date” or “shutting date”, but we don’t. Closing date means fecha tope. There was another translation for fecha tope in the business section of this month’s newsletter. Do you remember it? It was deadline. The deadline for the project is May 25th. The closing date is May 25th.

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

A quien madruga, Dios le ayuda. - "The early bird catches the worm."

Les da uno la mano y se toman hasta el codo. - “Give him an inch and he'll take a mile.”

No es oro todo lo que reluce. - “All that glitters is not gold.”

Caras vemos, corazones no sabemos / El hábito no hace al monje. - “Don't judge a book by its cover.”

Another one:

Moro viejo nunca será buen cristiano. (Hmm that rounds a bit racist to me) Moro viejo nunca será buen cristiano. In English?...- "A leopard can't change its spots."

Del dicho al hecho hay mucho trecho - "Easier said than done."

Ojos que no ven, corazón que no siente - In English?...-  "Out of sight out of mind."

And finally, Perro ladrador, poco mordedor. - That was difficult to say. I’ll try again: Perro ladrador, poco mordedor. In English? - “His bark is worse than his bite.”

My boss, he..he’s ok really. My boss, his bark is worse than his bite.

Good! Ok, in Business English this month we practised a few questions that you may be asked in a job interview. Of course, it’s very difficult to know exactly what you’ll be asked in an interview before you go in, but I think there are some things that you can prepare and think about before you find yourself in the hot seat.

You should definitely research the company before you go. Find out as much as you can about the company’s culture and the company’s history. Use Google and use the company’s website. When you’re answering questions, you can often give answers that relate directly to the company you are interviewing with, if you know the company’s background.

Anyway, I’ll read the questions from the cuaderno to you now. Err..you should pause after each question and answer them as best you can. Then, then press play and listen to my suggested answers. So let’s imagine that you are at an interview now, and tell me….

What is your greatest weakness?

I like to make sure that my work is perfect, so I tend to perhaps spend a little too much time checking it. However, I've come to a good balance by setting up a system to ensure everything is done correctly the first time.

What is your greatest strength?

Well, my time management skills are excellent and I'm organized, efficient, and take pride in excelling at my work.

How would you describe yourself?

I'm a creative thinker. I like to explore alternative solutions to problems and I have an open mind about what will work best.

Do you take work home with you?

When I need to, that’s not a problem. I realize the importance of meeting deadlines and getting work done on time.

How many hours do you normally work?

Hmmm…It depends. Working a lot of hours doesn't always mean high productivity. I typically work as many hours as necessary in order to do get the job done effectively.

How do you handle stress and pressure?

I react to situations, rather than to stress. That way, the situation’s handled and doesn't become stressful. I actually work better under pressure and I've found that I enjoy working in a challenging environment.

What motivates you?

I've always been motivated by the desire to do a good job at whatever position I'm in. I want to excel and be successful in my job, both for my own personal satisfaction and for my employer.

Do you remember the meaning of the following vocabulary from the interviews?

to handle – What does that mean? – to handle -  In Spanish tratar, manejar

tend to - soler, tener tendencia

efficient - eficiente, eficaz

pride - to take pride in something. Pride is orgullo

deadline, you should remember - fecha tope o fecha límite

challenging – I enjoy working in a challenging environment – challenging - que supone o constituye un reto or un desafío

environment - ambiente

desire means deseo

and to excel - I want to excel and be successful - destacar, sobresalir – I want to excel in my work.

Well, that’s it for this month. Thanks to all of you for listening. And, if you want to contact us you can find us on Facebook. Just search Facebook for La Mansión del Inglés and join our growing community of fans. Or send an email to: mansionteachers@yahoo.es. You can also follow us on Twitter. Our Twitter name is MansionTwit.

Y también si tienes una pregunta sobre cualquier cosa relacionada con el aprendizaje del inglés o la cultura inglesa, grábalo en un fichero de mp3 y mándanoslo por email – como un adjunto. Vamos a incluir vuestras preguntas y las respuestas en los podcasts mensuales del cuaderno. Ok?

Until next month then, take care and keep practising English! Bye!

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 octubre aquí. 

http://www.cuadernodeingles.com/cuaderno_mes/versionweb_mesesanteriores/cuaderno_11_oct.htm

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

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

 

 

 

 

 

Direct download: 2011_october_cuaderno_final_cut.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:53pm CET

Aprender ingles gratis con La Mansion del Ingles. Un podcast para mejorar la gramatica, el vocabulario y la pronunciacion del inglés. 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 everyone! How are you? Welcome to another Mansión Inglés podcast, recorded for September 2011.

En el nivel básico este mes hemos practicado un poco de pronunciación con los sonidos vocales. No voy a repetir lo mismo porque los sonidos están en el cuaderno de septiembre.

Pero si podemos practicar los plurales. Yo voy a decir los sustantivos en singular, y tú dices el plural antes que lo digo yo. Ready? ¿Listos?

One photo -  two photos

One glass – two glasses

One city – two cities

One key (una llave) – two keys

One man – two men

One party – two parties

One baby – two babies

One week – two weeks

One child – two children

Very good! ¡Muy bien!

In the intermediate section this month we practised the past continuous tense.

The past continuous, sometimes called the past progressive, is used to say that something was happening around a particular time in the past

Repeat the examples: I was having lunch at 2 o’clock.

What were you doing when I phoned?

They weren’t sitting in the restaurant when we arrived.

We can use the past continuous and past simple together. When this happens, the past continuous is used for the longer action and to provide background. The past simple is used for the shorter action.

Listen to the examples:

We were driving along when suddenly a dog ran out in front of the car.

The driving was the long action and the dog ran out was the short action in the middle.

She sent me a text message while I was waiting for her.

Listen and repeat the following examples of the past continuous:

Sofia broke her arm shile she was skiing.

When I arived, they were talking about football.

This time last week we were walking along 5th avenue in New York eating a hot dog.

When I left home, the sun was shining, the birds were singing. It felt good to be alive.

I looked out of the car window and I saw that we were driving past Big Ben.

When I saw Sandra she was drinking Guinness!

I met my girlfriend while I was travelling around Australia.

When I got home my son was drinking my whisky.

He told me that his wife was having an affair.

While I was waiting for the train, someone stole my iPod.

Next we practiced So am I and Neither am I

So am I significa yo también. We can also say “I am too”.

So does she means “she does too”. So has he means “he has too” etc.

Neither am I and nor am I significan yo tampoco. We can also say “I’m not either”.

Listen and repeat the examples:

He’s Spanish, and so am I.

She’s from Buenos Aires, and so am I.

I was angry, and so was my wife.

I can’t speak French, and neither can he.

I hate swimming, and so does she.

‘I’ve forgotten his name.’ – ‘So have I!’

'She's learning Chinese, and so is her husband."

‘I’ve decided to lose weight, and so has my wife.’

I can’t drive, and neither can my wife.

‘I love travelling.’ – ‘So do I.’

Julie won’t be at the meeting, and nor will Stuart.

‘I bought an iPhone.’ – ‘So did Gary’.

‘He’s tall and really attractive.’ – ‘So is his brother.’

‘You look tired.’ – ‘So do you.’

‘We weren’t surprised.’ – ‘Neither were we.’

The hotel was terrible, and so was the food.

In the advanced section this month we practised some more phrasal nouns.

Many people say that if you take enough vitamin C at the onset of a cold, you'll often recover faster. Onset here means at the beginning. – el comienzo – Yu sometimes hear people speaking about the onset of an illness, when the illness first started.

Outbreak can be translated as brote - The World Health Organization website is a useful resource for tracking the outbreak of diseases worldwide. You should take precautions against the outbreak of flu.

Page layout is the part of graphic design that deals with the arrangement and style treatment of elements (or content) on a page. Layout often means deseño and it’s common when talking about web page design, the page layout. It can also be used when talking about the inside of a house, for example. What’s the layout of the living room? I like the way the flat is laid out. – Me gusta la distribución del piso.

The word outlet can mean salida, mercado, punto de venta and válvula de escape. - An outlet store is a brick and mortar or online retail store in which manufacturers sell their stock directly to the public. Playing tennis was a good outlet for her. - Jugar al tenis le servía para relajarse

Take-off is the phase of flight in which an aircraft goes through a transition from moving along the ground, or taxiing, to flying in the air, usually starting on a runway. To take off is the phrasal verb – What time does the flight take off? And also the phrasal noun – Please get ready for take-off.

Warm up is another example of phrasal verb and phrasal noun. Don’t forget to warm up before the match. A good warm up before exercise can help prevent injury.

Now I’m going to read the Student Banking text from the monthly newsletter, el cuaderno mensual,  and I want you to guess the word when I pause. Now, this is quite difficult so you may want to do the gap fill exercise in the newsletter before you listen, read it again now or just listen to the text two or three times. Try to remember the vocabulary and repeat it after me. Ready? Here we go!

Nowadays there is a wide…… choice of financial packages on offer for students, and it is……. advisable to talk to someone about the best….. deals available.

Many banks have employees who specialize in student finances, they are called…… consultants, and they can advise you on how to make provisions for your needs during your…. course. Now is the time to work out your probable… spending on food, accommodation and…. books; and if you have any… savings, you should decide whether to draw them out. Credits cards are a mixed…. blessing. It’s easy to misuse them and find yourself unable to keep up with…. payments.

However, don’t be disheartened with all this. Your earnings as a…. graduate should enable you to clear your…. debts with in a few years.

In the Business English section, we practised vocabulary of office stationary and equipment. Listen to the words in Spanish and try to say the English translation before I do. Then repeat the words to practise pronunciation.

sujetapapeles - paper clips

papelera - wastepaper basket

tijeras - scissors

archivos/carpetas - files/folders

maletín - briefcase

goma - rubber (uk) / eraser (us)

perforadora - hole punch

archivador - filing cabinet

grapadora - stapler

sacapuntos - pencil sharpener

Mansion Business is our complete business course in CD Rom. Mansion Business es un completo y moderno Curso de Inglés Comercial con material relacionada con el mundo de la empresa y los negocios.

Mansion Business contains business expressions and vocabulary, listenings and dialogues, reading texts and business functions like making presentations, speaking in meetings, describing market trends and lots more.

There are 4 review tests to maximise learning, and over 120 hours of lesson time. The course level in Mansion Business is intermediate to upper intermediate, and you can buy this CD only from La Mansión del Inglés for 34 euros plus postage.

So, if you need English for Business, you need Mansion Business. To order your CD, go to mansioningles.com, click on the CDs icon on the right side of the home page.

Allí puedes ver todo el contenido del CD y bajar la primera lección gratis para probar sin compromiso.

Well, that’s it for this month. Thanks to all of you for listening. If you want to contact us you can find us on Facebook. Just search Facebook for La Mansión del Inglés and join our growing community of fans. Or send an email to mansionteachers@yahoo.es. And you can also follow us on Twitter. Our Twitter name is MansionTwit.

Until next month then, take care and keep practising English! Bye!

Puedes ver el cuaderno mensual de septiembre aquí.

Puedes ver todos los cuadernos anteriores aquí.

Puedes recibir gratis nuestro Cuaderno mensual de Inglés aquí. 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

Direct download: 2011_september_cuaderno_final_cut.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:15am CET

Aprender ingles gratis con La Mansion del Ingles. Un podcast para mejorar la gramatica, el vocabulario y la pronunciacion del inglés. 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 everyone! Hello again. It’s good to be back with you again, and thank you for downloading this Mansión Inglés podcast, recorded for August 2011.

En el nivel básico este mes, hemos practicado el vocabulario del hogar. ¿Te acuerdas como se dice salón en ingles? – living room. Repite: living room. ¿Cómo se dice? en inglés es How do you say? Es muy útil esta expressión. Repitela How do you say? How do you say baño in English? – bathroom. Bueno en el sud de inglesterra se dice bathroom, en el norte se dice bathroom. No tiene importancia. Pero si es importante poner el énfasis en la primera silaba y no en el segundo. Se dice bathroom y no XbathroomX. Repite bathroom, bathroom. How do you say cocina? . kitchen Repite: kitchen. How do you say dormitorio in English? Bedroom. El enfasis esta en la primera silaba. Repite, bedroom. How do you say habitación de invitados? – spare room or guest room. Repite: spare room , guest room. And aseo, a very important word – una palabra muy importante. How do you say aseo in English? Toilet. Repite: toilet.

 Ahora voy a decir las palabras en español y tu tienes que decir la tradución en ingles antes que lo digo yo. ¿Listos? Ready?

salon - living-room

baño - bathroom

aseo - toilet

dormitorio - bedroom

habitación de invitados - spare room

cocina - kitchen

 Luego hemos practicado las preguntas con is there (singular) y are there (plural). Escucha y repite:

Is there a computer in your house?  computer = ordenador. Repite: Is there a computer in your house? 

Are there any pictures on the wall? pictures son cuadros y wall = pared - Repeat: Are there any pictures on the wall?

How many bedrooms are there? Repeat: How many bedrooms are there?

Are there any good restaurants? Repeat: Are there any good restaurants?

Is there air-conditioning? air-conditioning significa aire acondicionado Repeat: Is there air-conditioning?

Is there a television? Repeat: Is there a television? Is there a TV?

How many chairs are there? Chairs = sillas - Repeat: How many chairs are there?

Are there any plants? Plants of course are plantas Repeat: Are there any plants?

Is there a microwave? Microwave in Spanish is microondas Repeat: Is there a microwave?

Is there a window? What’s window in Spanish? Yes, it’s una ventana. You know that! ¡Sabías esto! Repeat: Is there a window?

Is there a mirror? A mirror es un espejo Repeat: Is there a mirror?

Is there central heating? central heating = califacción central Repeat: Is there central heating?

Very good! - ¡Muy bien!

Mira nuestro curso de iniciación para más práctica en www.mansioningles.com

In the intermediate section we continued practising the wonderfully exciting gerunds and infinitives. This month we looked at some expressions in English that are followed by gerunds. For example, expressions like There’s no point in…There’s no point in taking the car. – There’s no point - no tiene sentido repeat: There’s no point in taking the car. You may remember that after prepositions (in, at, on, about, for etc) we put a gerund. Well, in is a preposition, so ….gerund – Repeat: There’s no point in taking the car.

I can’t help…I can’t help thinking I made a mistake. – I can’t help thinking… - No puedo evitar pensar… – I couldn’t help laughing. – no podia evitar reirme. Repeat: I can’t help thinking I made a mistake. I couldn’t help laughing when he told me.

I can’t stand…I can’t stand waiting for people. Can’t stand means no soporta or no aguanta it means to dislike strongly. Repeat: I can’t stand queueing. – I can’t stand driving in big cities.

Next was the expression to have a problem or have (some) problems or to have no problem… For example, I’m afraid I’m having problems understanding your accent. Repeat: I’m having problems learning English. She had a problem using the software program. We had no problems finding the hotel.

It’s no use…It’s no use asking me to give you a lift. It’s no use means it’s pointless, es inútil, - no serve de nada – it’s a waste of time. Repeat: It’s no use - It’s no use flying, the pilots are on strike. It’s no use shouting at him - It's no use crying over spilt milk  - "De nada sirve llorar sobre la leche derramada" - "A lo hecho, pecho" / " Lo hecho, hecho está"  - It's no use crying over spilt milk

It’s a waste of time/money… It’s a waste of time – es una pérdida de tiempo. It’s a waste of money – Es tirar el dinero – Repeat: It’s a waste of money buying mobile phone applications. It’s a waste of time learning phrasal verbs.

Remember, you can learn more about gerunds and infinitives in our grammar section, and in our intermediate course, both free at mansioningles.com.

In the advanced section this month we revised some verb tenses. I’m going to read the example sentences from the newsletter and I’d like you to tell me which verb tenses you hear. Ready? So, identify the verb tenses.

First were three sentences with the verb to have

  1. We were having a fantastic time until the police came and broke up the party. (‘We were having’ - past continuous or past progressive)
  2. Please don’t come round between 3 and 4 in the afternoon. We’ll be having a siesta then. ‘We’ll be having (future continuous – we will be having, we’ll be having)
  3. Don’t you think it’s time we bought a new bed? We’ve had this one for nearly 15 years. (present perfect simple – we have had – we’ve had - We’ve had this one for nearly 15 years.)                                                                      

  4. Next were three sentences with the verb to sell.
  1. My wife earns a pretty good living. She sells medical supplies to private hospitals and clinics. (present simple – my wife sells)
  2. I really regret not buying that second hand electric guitar on eBay. It’ll have been sold by now. (future perfect simple passive – it will have been sold – it’ll have been sold by now)
  3. If no one offers to buy our flat, it’ll be sold by auction at the end of the year. (future simple passive – it will be sold – it’ll be sold)

 Next was the verb to take

  1. “I’m really busy today. I don’t think I’ll be able to get a refund on that coat I bought.”

-         “Don’t worry darling, give me the receipt and I’ll take it back for you.”

(future simple with will – I will take it back for you – I’ll take it back.)

  1. My daughter’s so selfish lately. Yesterday she came in from work, took something to eat, changed her clothes and went out again without even speaking to me. (Past simple – My daughter took something to eat.)
  2. I saw a terrible accident the other day. A young boy fell off his motorbike and was taken to hospital in an ambulance. (‘was taken’ is past simple passive – He was taken to hospital)

 Moving on to the verb to walk:

  1. We didn’t use the tent the first night on the Camino de Santiago. We were so tired that we checked in to a hotel for the night. We’d been walking for 12 hours. (past perfect continuous – we had been walking – we’d been walking - We’d been walking for 12 hours.)
  2. My granddad’s walking now. He had the hip replacement lat month and came out of hospital last weekend. (present continuous – he is walking now – My granddad’s walking now.)
  3. “How did you get from the hotel to the exhibition?”
    1. “I walked. It only took about 15 minutes.” (past simple – I walked)

 Finally, the verb to see:

  1. If everything goes to plan, I’ll have seen all the countries I want to by the time I’m 55. (future perfect – I will have seen – I’ll have seen all the countries I want to by the time I’m 55.)
  2. I’m sorry, I can’t make it for lunch tomorrow. I’m seeing/I’ll be seeing/I’m going to see my therapist at 1 o’clock. (Hmmm, three possibilities here to talk about future plans or arrangements. I’m seeing – present continuous used here to talk about future plans, I’ll be seeing – future continuous – I will be seeing, and the going to future I’m going to see.)
  3. Charlie got the sack last week. He was seen taking money out of the cash register. (Past simple passive – He was seen)

 I want to take a minute to tell you about a special offer we have at the moment on our product page at mansioningles.com. The Complete Pack el pack ahorro completo de La Mansión del Inglés. We offer ALL of our cds at a great price. So, that’s our complete web site on Mansion CD, Mansion Business for Business English at intermediate level, Mansion First for the Cambridge FCE exam, Mansion Travel with dialogues and useful conversations and expressions for travelling abroad. There’s Mansion Listen for advanced listenings, Mansion Books for lovers of literature, and Mansion Auto 1 and 2 in MP3 audio for beginners. All 8 CDs plus a free cd of 100 software programs to help you learn English. All this for only 99 Euros. You save 112 Euros, and we pay the postage wherever you are in the world. Now that’s a good deal. Es una oferta muy buena. For more details, just click the cd icon on the right side of the home page at mansioningles.com.

In the vocabulary section at advanced level, there were some phrasal nouns to practise. For example, standby. You can be on standby if you’re waiting for a place to become available at the airport. British Airways have no tickets available on any flight to New York tomorrow, but they’ve put us on standby in case there’s a cancellation. You also have standby modes on many domestic electrical appliances. Standby kind of puts your device to sleep. It’s working, but not running on full power.

You check in at the airport and a hotel when you arrive. Check-in is a verb and a noun. “Excuse me, where’s the check-in?”

The next word, downfall, sort of translates as caída or perdición or ruína. We speak about the downfall of a dictator or a king, for example. Alcohol was his downfall. Drugs were her downfall. That’s what brought her down.

Takeover was the next word. Toma de poder. You can have a military takeover. A company can takeover another company. A strong collocation is a takeover bid – B-I-D - Samsung has made a takeover bid for Nokia.

A comeback is a return a revival – una vuelta, retorno – The fashions of the 1960’s are making a comeback.

If a concert is a sell-out there are no more tickets left. They’ve sold out. It was a sell-out tour.

Lastly, a check-up is revisión in Spanish. You should go to the dentists every six months so that he can check your teeth, or give you a check up (actually, I only go once a year). You can go to the doctor’s for a check-up too, but not for your car. Revisión del coche in English is a service, so you take your car for a service or you have your car serviced or get your car serviced.

And finally, in the Business English section this month we practised some business collocations with the word price. I’ll read the definition and you try to remember the collocations containing the word price. Ready?

When prices go down, decrease, fall, drop, it’s called a price….cut.

When prices go up or rise we say it is a price….increase.

When the government try to limit price increases, we say that they put price……. controls.

When companies fight with each other to get more of the market, and prices fall as a result, we say that there is a price…..war.

Una etiqueta del precio in English is a price….tag.

And finally, when there is a good period for sellers and prices rise quickly we say there is a price….boom.

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

You can sign up for our cuaderno mensual and see all the previous newsletters and podcasts by clicking on the link on the Mansión Inglés home page.

Until next month then, take care and keep practising English! Bye!

Puedes ver el cuaderno mensual de agosto aquí. 

Puedes ver todos los cuadernos anteriores aquí 

Puedes recibir gratis nuestro Cuaderno mensual de Inglés aquí. 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Direct download: 2011_august_cuaderno_final_cut.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:08am CET