Idiom of the day (13)

Don't put the cart before the horse.

No empezar la casa por el tejado.

Vocabulary (4) - environment

bumper-to-bumper traffic

congestion

an open dump

piles of rubbish

bleaches/detergents/cleaning products

toxic

(to) discard

(to) re-use

(to) recycle

deforestation

eco-friendly products

car exhaust fumes

factory emissions

burning fossil fuels

oil spills

overuse of chemicals in agriculture

water/air pollution

carbon dioxide

aerosols that contain CFCs

climate change

global warming

greenhouse gases

Idiom of the day (12)

To call a spade a spade.

Llamar al pan, pan y al vino, vino.

Patterns with get

get + adjective = become

    Things started to get exciting towards the end.

get + noun = obtain/receive

    I got my deegre last summer.

get + to-infinitive = succeed in doing something, have the chance or opportunity to do someting

    I finally got to see the Grand Canyon last year.
    Apparently you can get to be a politician without qualifications these days.

get + ing = start doing something

    Let's get going then, or we'll be late.

get + object + to-infinitive = ask or persuade someone to do something (cause)

    She got her brother to decorate her flat for her.

get + object + ing (result)

    After a long time and a lot of effort I finally got them singing in unison.
    We promise we'll get your computer system running perfectly by this 
    time tomorrow.

get passive -> This use is generally more informal

    He got run over by a car.
    The window got broken by some kids playing football.
    He got his brother arrested.
    I got my photos developed.
    I got my wallet stolen when I was on holiday.

Idiom of the day (11)

To pass the buck.

Pasar la pelota.

Unreal conditions

An unreal condition is a type of conditional. Related link: conditionals.

The if clause (describing an unreal situation)

When you want to describe a past situation which is unreal, or imagine how a past situation might have been different, you backshift the verb in the if clause.

What really happened                   What might have happened
(real past)                                   (unreal past)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
She won a small amount of     ->    If she had won the jackpot,...
money in the lottery.

She wasn't paying attention.   ->    If she had been paying a little more   
                                                  attention,...

Substituting if

Instead of using if to introduce the unreal situation, you can invert the subject and verb.

     If she had won the jackpot,...     ->    Had she won the jackpot,...
     If your work had been more        ->    Had your work been more 
     satisfactory,...                                 satisfactory,...

This is more typical of formal language, especially if it is written.

The main clause

Describing possible present consequences

You use would (do) or would be (doing) to describe the possible present consequences of the unreal past situation.

If she had won the lottery, she wouldn't be working for the Tatler any more.
If she had been paying more attention, she wouldn't be in such a mess.

Describing possible past consequences

You use would have (done) or would have been (doing) to describe the possible past consequences of the unreal past situation.

If she had won the lottery, she would have bought a snazzy red sports car.
She wouldn't have been daydreaming in class if the lesson had been a little more interesting.


The if clause and the main clause can be used in either order.

Idiom of the day (10)

Bottoms up!

¡Al centro y pa'dentro!

Writing (3) - Tips to write an essay

Cuando escribimos una redacción (essay en inglés) es muy importante tener en mente dos cosas:

1) Qué estilo, formal o informal, tenemos que utilizar (pincha aquí para profundizar en este aspecto).

2) La estructura de la redacción que vamos a escribir así como una serie de "frases hechas" que se suelen usar en cada párrafo y en cada tipo de redacción.

En futuras entradas iremos viendo con detenimiento los siguientes tipos de redacciones:

• an informal letter describing a house for rent
• a story
• a semi-formal transactional letter
• an essay providing solutions to problems
• a for and against essay
• an opinion essay
• an article describing a visit to a place
• an assessment report
• a letter to the editor
• a formal transactional letter
• a letter to apply for a job
• a letter of complaint

El objetivo es ir desarrollando el punto 2) para cada uno de los tipos de redacciones antes mencionados. Todas estas entradas serán etiquetadas con la palabra essay.

Idiom of the day (9)

Blood is thicker than water.

La sangre tira.

Negative and limiting adverbials

Sometimes you can place a negative or limiting adverbial in the front position in a sentence to create emphasis. This effect is most frequently found in writing.

Word Order

In this type of sentence, the subject+auxiliary word order is inverted.

     I have never seen anything quite so breathtaking.

     Never have I seen anything quite so breathtaking.

The same thing happens with the verb be.

    It is not only one of the oldest cities on Earth, it is also one of the most beautiful.

     Not only is it one of the oldest cities on Earth, it is also one of the most beautiful.

In the present simple and past simple, use do/does or did.

     We rarely visit that part of town.

     Rarely do we visit that part of town

Negative adverbials

Not a + noun
Not a word did she say to anyone.

Not until + verb phrase
Not until I got home did I realise how lucky I'd been.

Not until + noun phrase
Not until the end did I realise how lucky I'd been.

Under no circumstances
Under no circumstances are you to leave before you finish the exercise.

On no account
On no account can they claim to be the best.

Never
Never had I seen such a beautiful sight.

No sooner...than
No sooner had I arrived than the doorbell rang.

Limiting adverbials

Only + by + -ing
Only by bribing the police officer was he able to get away.

Only + conjunction + verb phrase
Only if he promised to help would she tell him where he had left left his keys.
Only after they had finished their lunch were they allowed to play outside.
Only when I took the test did I realise how little I knew!

Little
Little did the know that we were following them.


Rarely/Seldom
Rarely had I seen such a beautifu sight.


Barely/Hardly/Scarcely...when
Barely had I arrived when the doorbell rang.

Idiom of the day (8)

It's not my cup of tea.

No es lo mío.

The

Post de este blog sobre el artículo definido the: The (definite article)

The puede ser usado con algunos adjetivos para describir grupos de gente:

• the rich/the well-off/the poor/the less well-off/the unemployed
• the elderly/the middle-aged/the young
• the blind/the deaf/the disabled

Ejemplo: The rich had lots of time, the poor had little.

Ahora puedes practicar tú haciendo generalizaciones sobre alguno de los grupos de gente antes mecnionados.

Idiom of the day (7)

To beat around (about) the bush.

Andarse con rodeos.

Vocabulary (3) - Household chores

household chores = housework

     wash the dishes

     dust the furniture

     make the beds

     iron the clothes

     vacuum the carpets

     clean the windows

     mop the floors

     mow the lawn

Los verbos marcados en verde se pueden utilizar con la siguiente estructura: do/does + -ing

Idiom of the day (6)

...a diamond in the rough.

...un diamante en bruto.

Writing (2) - Informal or formal style?

Cuando escribimos una redacción (essay en inglés) tenemos que tener muy claro a quién va dirigida dicha redacción (ya sea carta, artículo, etc).

Si nos dirigimos a alguien que no conocemos o no tenemos mucha relación/confianza utilizaremos un estilo formal (formal style) pero si nos dirigimos a alguien a quien conocemos bien, como un amigo o un familiar muy cercano, utilizaremos un estilo informal (informal style).

Informal style

• abbreviations e.g. I've got
• simple linking words e.g. but, so, and, etc
• shorter setences e.g. I'd like to see you
• personal tone e.g. I've got some great news
• everyday expressions e.g. Thanks a lot

Formal style

• no abbreviations e.g. I have got
• formal linking words e.g. despite
• longer setences
• impersonal tone e.g. passive
• formal expressions e.g. I look forward to hearing

Idiom of the day (5)

It costs an arm and a leg.

Cuesta un ojo de la cara.

Hedging

En ocasiones no quieres decir algo categóricamente debido a que no puedes demostrar que eso es verdad. En este caso puedes usar una amplia gama de estructuras para distanciarte de los hechos y las opiniones. Esta táctica de llama hedging.

Hedging with verbs

Puedes usar appear y seem (that) para crear distancia entre tú y lo que es dicho.

     It seems that the President may soon stand down.
     It appears that the news reports are true.
     The weather appears to be changing.
     The outcome seems to be inevitable.

Para añadir más distancia puedes usar el verbo modal would.

     It would appear that you have already made up your mind.
     They would appear to be hostile.
     It would seem that you are in the wrong.
     It would seem that you are avoiding me.


Hedging with the passive voice

Puedes usar formas pasivas del verbo para mostrar que una opinión no es necesariamente tuya.

     It is widely recognised that the future of advertising is on the Net.
     There are not believed to be any survivors.
     It is not known whether he will accept the offer.

Hedging with noun phrases

Puedes usar noun phrases entorno a un sujeto.

     There is little doubt that she took her own life.
     There is some doubt that the country can control its inflation.
     There is no doubt that he knows that he's doing.
     There is little evidence of your ability to manage change.

Idiom of the day (4)

An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

Ojo por ojo y diente por diente.

Aprender inglés con canciones - 2

Retomemos youtube y la música para continuar aprendiendo y/o mejorando nuestro nivel de inglés.

Para ello escucharemos canciones de grupos ingleses como los siguientes:

• Queen: tienen canal oficial en youtube, pincha aquí para acceder a él.
• Rolling Stones: todas las listas de reproducción en una sola, pincha aquí para acceder a él.

A seguir practicando...