12 MOTHER'S SAYINGS

Este artículo está dedicado a algunas de las frases de madre que (casi) todos hemos oído y recibido.

NOTA.- Las frases están con su equivalente en nuestro idioma y una pequeña explicación gramatical y del vocabulario.

1.- Because I said so. = Porque yo lo digo.

Sabemos que "because" es la palabra respuesta de "why". "So" tiene varios significados como "así", "tan" y "también".

2.- Wait and see. = Espera y verás.

La frase completa sería "Just wait and see". La palabra "just" equivale a "sólo" o "solamente" en este caso.

3.- Ask your dad. = Pregunta a papá.

Una variante es "Go ask your dad" (Ve y pregunta a papá). "Ask" no es sólo "preguntar", también equivale a "solicitar". "Dad" es la forma corta de "father".

4.- No dessert unless you finish your dinner. = No hay postre hasta que termines la comida.

La palabra "dessert" suele ser cambiada por el nombre de algún postre. No confundir con "desert" que equivale a "desierto".

5.- If someone asked you to jump off a cliff, would you? = Si alguien te dice que te lances de un puente, lo harías?

La palabra "cliff" en realidad, equivale a "precipicio". En la frase vemos el uso del Second Conditional.

6.- I've told you a thousand times. = Te lo he dicho mil veces.

En ocasiones, los números en nuestro idioma, varían. Así pueden ser "mil" o "millón". La estructura es del Present Perfect.

7.- You'll take someone's eye out with that. = Le vas a arrancar un ojo a alguien con eso.

Aquí se usa el Phrasal Verb "take out" (arrancar) y el Posesivo 's.

8.- It'll all end in tears. = Luego acabarán llorando.

Asociamos "end" como "fin" o "final", pero también funciona como verbo. "Tears" equivale a "lágrimas". Esta frase y la anterior, llevan como estructura el Future Will.

9.- Don't sit that close to the tv. You'll get square eyes. = No te sientes tan cerca de la tv. Te quedarás ciego.

La definición de "square" es "cuadrado", aunque en otros casos equivale a "plaza" como en Times Square. En la primera frase observamos una estructura de Command (órden). 

10.- Carrots make you see in the dark. = Las zanahorias son buenas para la vista.

La traducción más literal sería: "las zanahorias te hacen ver en la oscuridad". Cuando se habla de un objeto o tema en general, no se usa "the" antes de la palabra.

11.- Do as I say, not as I do. = Haz lo que yo diga, no lo que haga.

La frase traducida sería: "haz como yo digo, no como yo hago". Aquí también vemos que es Command.

12.- Back in my day. = En mis tiempos.

Hay variantes para esta frase, como: "Back in my days" y "Back in the day". La palabra "back" indica el pasado.

ESCRIBIR A PARTIR DE SUSTANTIVOS

Algunos alumnos nos preguntan ¿Cómo podemos empezar a escribir en inglés fácilmente?

Nuestra respuesta la reflejamos en el siguiente artículo.

1.- Elementos necesarios

Necesitaremos saber o conocer:

a) Verbos

b) Tiempos verbales

c) Preposiciones

d) Otro vocabulario útil como adjetivos, adverbios, etc.

2.- Sustantivos

Todos los sustantivos que se nos ocurran.

Nosotros damos algunos.

 - School, farm, bus, teacher, cat, tree, bird, girl, man, sister, road, brother, boy, house, home.

3.- Desarrollo

Este ejercicio puede ser desarrollado por alumno/as de todos los niveles. El grado de dificultad dependerá del nivel de lo/as mismo/as.

* Opción A

Se trata de hacer frases utilizando uno o más sustantivos.

I) Nivel básico

Ejemplos:

- I go to school every day.

- There are many animals in the farm.

- I have / I've got a brother and a sister.

- My English teacher goes to school by bus.

II) Nivel intermedio

Ejemplos:

- I used to go to school by bus.

- My brother Mike lived in a big house next to a farm.

- The cat climbed up the tree to catch a bird.

- That man has been a teacher in my school since I was a young boy.

III) Nivel avanzado

- The teacher had been waiting for the bus for 45 minutes when he met this girl at the bus station.

- The bus will have arrived at school by 8:00 hours.

* Opción B

Se hacen frases utilizando verbos, tiempos verbales, adjetivos, etc. pero específicos.

Ejemplo:

a) boy, girl, school, go

- The boy and the girl go to school by bus.

b) teacher, home (Simple Past Tense)

- The teacher went home at 5 o'clock yesterday.

c) brother, house, big

- My brother has a big house.

4.- Historia

Se puede construir una historia con la mayor cantidad de sustantivos posibles. Las historias pueden estar en uno o más tiempos verbales, tener unos verbos específicos o cualquier dificultad que el alumno pueda o quiera añadir.

Un ejemplo en un tiempo verbal específico es el siguiente:

"There was a farm next to a road. In the farm there was a house where a man lived. He was a teacher and lived with a boy and a girl who were brother and sister, and a cat. They used to go to school by bus every day. In the farm there were trees and birds."

En este texto hemos utilizado 14 de los 15 sustantivos. Lo hemos hecho en Simple Past Tense. También hemos incluido Relative clauses y cambiamos algunos sustantivos de singular a plural.

5.- Recomendaciones

- Si es posible, se pueden hacer tarjetas o cartas con las palabras a utilizar para hacerlo más ameno.

- Los sustantivos pueden o no estar relacionados o pertenecer a un mismo tema.

- Mientras más libre (sin palabras ni tiempos verbales específicos), mejor. Así el/la alumno/a utilizará todo su conocimiento e imaginación, sobretodo en la "Historia".

INTERMEDIATE TEST (2)

Este es el segundo test de nivel intermedio que aquí publicamos. Para resolverlo, necesitará copiarlo y pegarlo en un archivo WORD o similar.

Si lo desea, puede pedir las respuestas vía e-mail o mediante un comentario.

I.- Choose the correct alternative to complete the sentences.

1) All / None the students are having a break now.

2) Barcelona has a higher / the highest population than Valencia.

3) Both / All Susan and Peter are taking part in the competition.

4) Don't touch this body ! He's death / dead.

5) He isn't as big / the same big as his brother.

6) I find going to the cinema a lot more interesting / the most interesting than watching tv.

7) I haven't got much / many time to waste.

8) In my opinion, Scotland has more beautiful / the most beautiful countryside in the world.

9) Is the baby still / yet sleeping? No, he's just woken up.

10) Is there any / anything we can do for you?

11) Most of / Most my students speak two languages.

12) Our trip to Mallorca last year was one of the more enjoyable / most enjoyable holidays we've never / ever had.

13) Some / Any of my friends have a driving license.

14) The police nearly / near discovered the criminal.

15) There isn't somewhere / anywhere to park in this area.

16) There was a bank robbery / rob at 8 pm yesterday.

17) There were a lot / few of people at the party.

18) I've had an argument with my boyfriend. We're not speaking to ourselves / each other.

19) Your computer isn't so good / better as mine.

20) He's very good at / in painting.

21) All / Everyone I invited came to my party.

22) Both Frank and Paul has / have a lot of spare time.

II.- Fill in the gaps with the correct preposition.

1) Bats are animals that sleep ___ the day and fly ___ night.

2) He is such an adventurer ! He has travelled all ___ the world.

3) My brother has been ill ___ a week.

4) I always leave the key ___ the doormat when I leave home.

5) I have a cut ___ my knee and it really hurts.

6) I've just bought some apples but there isn't a good one ___ them.

7) Keep your shoes ___ the rug, please. I don't want it to get dirty.

8) My son keeps his toys ___ a big box ___ a corner of the room.

9) Take those papers ___ of the drawer and give them to me.

10) The alarm clock fell ___ the bedside table but it didn't break.

11) The car was driving ___ the station ___ the end of the street but it stopped in front of my restaurant.

12) Suddenly, a rabbit ran ___ the road in front of the car.

III.- Put the following words in the correct order to form a meaningful sentence.

1) behind / The / in / was / angrily / man / the / shouting / car

2) She / home / as / she / walked / back / quickly / could / as

3) like / that / looks / and / house / Peter / Fiona's

4) curly / She's / wears / got / long / hair / glasses / and

5) river / is / deep / This / swim / enough / to / not / in

6) the / whole / He / asleep / film / was / during

IV.- Fill in the gaps with one of the following words.

a, all, another, both, every (x2), few, her, neither, none, other, the (x2), their

When Michelle got to ___ bus stop, there was ___ woman there too. After a ___ minutes they started chatting and get on the same bus to the city centre. Soon, they realised they were ___ going to the same place. The ___ woman was also on ___ way to Millicent Computers for ___ job interview. ___ of them knew much about the company or the position offered. They had seen it advertised in ___ Sunday papers. They both bought the papers ___ Sunday to look for work, but ___ of the job ads were very interesting. In the case of this job, it seemed you had to work ___ weekends and almost ___ night. As they were getting to ___ stop, they saw a long queue of people waiting at the entrance door to Millicent Computers.

TEST ELEMENTARY (3)

Les presentamos un nuevo TEST de nivel ELEMENTARY.
NOTA .- Las espuestas las podeis solicitar mediante un comentario o un e-mail.

A.- Choose the correct alternative to complete the sentences.

1.- a) Is this your/their coat?
      b) No, mine/my is the red one.

2.- Anna : Where's your homework?
     Keith : I'm doing it/them at the moment.

3.- David and Carla's/David and Carlas' house is practically on the beach.

4.- Don't forget to brush your teeth/tooths.

5.- Have you got a copy of yesterday's/yesterdays' newspaper?

6.- He didn't sell many/much books.

7.- He isn't as big/bigger as his brother.

8.- Hey, I've got a/some fantastic news.

9.- His brother sings beautifully/beautiful.

10.- I've just bought some/a new trousers.

11.- I had some/a toast for breakfast today.

12.- Is this/that your car at the end of the street?

13.- Let's have some wine/wines with our/my dinner.

14.- Marta has lost her/the purse.

15.- My old jacket doesn't fit my/me anymore.

16.- Pedro speaks English very good/well.

17.- Rio de Janeiro is famous for its/it's carnival.

18.- Thanks for a lovely evening. I really enjoyed myself/me.

19.- The african elephant is the larger/largest land mammal in the world.

20.- The Sears Tower is taller/the tallest than the Eiffel Tower.

21.- These/this are my children Sam, Nick and Mark.

22.- We've never made much/few money.

23.- You have no/any messages today.

B.- Complete the sentences with the correct preposition.

1.- What do you do ___ Mondays? Do you go ___ the swimming pool or do you stay ___ home?

2.- ___ the morning I drink coffee and ___ night I have some tea.

3.- My brother works ___ an office and my father works ___ a farm.

4.- I'd like to live ___ a Greek island ___ the Mediterranean.

5.- We arrived ___ Gatwick airport ___ 5pm. What time did you arrive ___ London then?

6.- I live ___ the east coast ___ Spain.

C.- Put the following words in the correct order to form a meaningful sentece.

1.- spoke, her, about, yesterday, I, it, to

2.- the, one, Catalan, is, of, in, languages, Spain

3.- as, train, slow, The, as, bus, the, isn't, (The bus ....)

4.- cinemas, of, the, are, lots, in, centre, There, city

5.- any, tank, Is, petrol, the, ?, in, there

6.- some, All, us speak, French, can, of

7.- doesn't, difficult, exercise, too, do, This, to, seem

D.- Fill in the gaps with : some, any, a, an, much, little, few.

I always get depressed when I open the fridge in my flat because we never buy ___ food. Yesterday was no different from any other day. I wanted a light snack in the afternoon but there was only half ___ packet of raisins, ___ decaf coffee in a jar and a ___ milk. We had ___ cheese but not ___. I decided to have ___ orange.
"Was there ___ fruit?", you may ask. Of course not, there are never ___ oranges when you want some!
There were a ___ bananas, ___ slice of watermelon and a ___ pinneapple juice, but I don't like ___ of them much.
I was feeling miserable and hungry when my flatmate came into the kitchen and asked : "Have you got ___ vegetables?"
Before I could answer she continued, "I want to make a big salad and I need ___ lettuce, a ___ tomatoes, ___ slice carrots and olives."
I pointed at the fridge and suggested, "Why don't you go shopping, my dear?".

TEST ELEMENTARY (2)

En ésta ocasión ponemos a prueba una vez más vuestro nivel de Inglés con otro test del nivel "Elementary". Si habeís podido con el primero, este no os será un problema. Si no, podeis repasar algunos temas que se explican en este mismo blog. Las respuestas las podeis pedir mediante la dirección email que aparece a la derecha de ésta página en el apartado "Comentarios".

1.- Escribir la palabra que falta en cada uno de los espacios. Las contracciones, se consideran como una sola palabra.

a) What _____ you usually eat for lunch?
b) George and Terry ____ speak portuguese.
c) It's 9:30 and the children ____ sitting at their desks.
d) Ken ____ like tea. In fact, he hates it.
e) ____ you choose your clothes? Or does your mother choose them?
f) When it rains, ____ you take an umbrella?
g) What ____it say on the board? I can't see from here.
h) Becky and Colin ____ doing their homework. They are watching tv.

2.- Elegir la opción correcta para cada frase.

a) What time ____ to bed?
 I) usually do you go
II) do usually you go
III) do you usually go

b) Everyday Frank ____ to work.
I) goes
II) is going
III) go

c) Stop it ! ____ it !
  I) I'm not liking
 II) I don't like
 III) I not like

d) What ____ ? Is it an orange?
I) you are eating
II) are you eating
III) do you eat

e) Sorry, I can't speak to you now. ____ a bath.
I) I'm having
II) I have
III) I don't have

f) Yumiko feels ill, so she ____ basketball
I) doesn't play
II) isn't play
III) isn't playing

g) Pay attention, Philip ____ ?
I) do you listen
II) is it listening
III) are you listening

h) Excuse me, ____ to Manchester?
I) this road goes
II) does this road go
III) is this road go

3.- Corrija las frases.

a) I doesn't likes this film
b) What do you wants?
c) Jim walk smetimes to school
d) Whe the lesson begins?
e) I don't gets up early on sundays
f) David do live near the station
g) Tina not like computer games
h) He watchs TV every night

4.- Vuelva a escribir las frases utilizando las palabras entre paréntesis.

a) Kate goes to school by bus. (usually)
b) I'm working hard. (not)
c) Sara likes sport. (not)
d) I get up at 6:30. (always)
e) We speak german. (not)
f) Pierre goes to the beach. (often)
g) George drinks beer. (never)
h) We're having a good time. (not)

5.- Señalar la frase correcta de entre las 2 opciones.

a) I don't understand this sentence.
    I'm not understanding this sentence.

b) Do you eat always a sandwich for lunch?
    Do you always eat a sandwich for lunch?

c) Laura is doing her homework at the moment.
    Laura does her homework at the moment.

d) Jane is reading every evening.
    Jane reads every evening.

e) Excuse me, how much do these shoes cost?
    Excuse me, how much are these shoes costing?

f) Helen is never eating meat.
   Helen never eats meat.

6.- Present Simple or Present Continuous? Cambiar el verbo si está equivocado. NOTA : Solo 3 son correctas.

a) Are you owning this motorbike?
b) I'm staying in a hotel near the sea.
c) I'd like to buy this coat. How much is it costing?
d) What's the matter? The bus is stopping.
e) I'm usually getting up at 6:00.
f) This book is difficult. I'm not understanding it.
g) Excuse me, are you knowing the way to the museum?