Show notes
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 63 recorded for July 2013.
Este mes, en el nivel básico practicamos los adverbios de frecuencia como always sometimes, never etc.
En el nivel intermedio enfocamos en las frases condicionales, los 'if' sentences y tenemos más ejemplos del vocabulario de la personalidad - character and personality.
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 los adverbios de frecuencia - adverbs of frequency. Voy a decir algunos adverbios en español, y tu dices la traducción en inglés antes que lo digo yo. Luego, repite la palabra en inglés para practicar la pronunciación. Ready? - ¿Listo?
siempre - always
casi siempre - almost always
a menudo, frecuentemente - often
generalmente, normalmente - usually (normally)
a veces - sometimes
pocas veces, casi nunca - rarely (hardly ever)
nunca - never
Very good! ¡Muy bien! Ahora, escucha y repite algunos ejemplos con los adverbios anteriores:
Escucha: I always have breakfast. Nota como el I y el always se juntan con un sonido en medio - I always. es el sonido /y/ como en las palabras yes, yesterday, yellow. Escucha y repite: always - yalways - Iyalways - I always have breakfast - I always have breakfast.
Escucha: I never go shopping by bus. Repite: by bus - go shopping - go shopping by bus - I never go shopping by bus - I never go shopping by bus.
Escucha: I sometimes read magazines. Repite: magazines - read magazines - I sometimes read magazines - I sometimes read magazines.
Escucha: I rarely see English films. Repite: English films. - see English films - rarely - rarely - I rarely see - I rarely see English films. - I rarely see English films.
Escucha: I often do exercise. Repite: do exercise. - often - often - I often do exercise. - I often do exercise.
Escucha: I almost always have lunch at home. Repite: at home. - have lunch - have lunch at home. - almost always - almost always - I almost always have lunch at home. Nota que aquí también entre el I y el almost existe otra sonido /y/ Escucha: Iyalmost - Repite: Iyalmost - I almost always - I almost always - I almost always have lunch at home.
Escucha: I hardly ever go to the cinema. Repite: the cinema. - go to the cinema. - hardly ever - la /h/ no se dice desde la garganza. No se dice "ch" hardly se dice /h/ hardly imaginate que estas limpiando las gafas. Escucha. /h/. Repite. /h/ hardly - hardly - hardly ever - hardly ever - I hardly ever go to the cinema. - I hardly ever go to the cinema.
Escucha: I don't usually have coffee. Repite: have coffee. (nota que se dice have coffee y no take a coffee. Tomar un cafe en inglés es have coffee.) Repite: have coffee - usually have coffee - I don't - I don't usually have coffee. - I don't usually have coffee.
Escucha: I sometimes speak English. Repite: speak English. - I sometimes speak English. - I sometimes speak English.
Escucha: I never speak French. Repite: speak French.- I never speak French - I never speak French
Escucha: I rarely leave home before 8. Repite: rarely - rarely - I rarely - I rarely leave home - I rarely leave home before 8.00. - before 8.00. - I rarely leave home before 8.00. - I rarely leave home before 8.00.
Escucha: I often get up before 7. Repite: before 7 - get up - get up before 7. - I often (también aquí hay este sonido raro en medio). Escucha: Iyoften. Repite: Iyoften - I often get up - I often get up before 7. - I often get up before 7.
Ok, moving on to the intermediate section, we practised some conditional 'if' sentences. Listen:
If I get home before 6, I’ll start making the dinner. Repeat: making the dinner. - I’ll start making the dinner. - If I get home before 6, - If I get home before 6, I’ll start making the dinner. - If I get home before 6, I’ll start making the dinner.
Listen: If it doesn’t stop snowing, the flight might be cancelled. Repeat: might be cancelled. - the flight might be cancelled. - If it doesn’t stop snowing, the flight might be cancelled. - If it doesn’t stop snowing, the flight might be cancelled.
Listen: If we don’t hurry, we’ll miss the last train. Repeat: the last train - we’ll miss the last train. - If we don’t hurry, we’ll miss the last train. - If we don’t hurry, we’ll miss the last train.
Listen: If he doesn’t work harder, he won’t make any commission. Repeat: make any commission. - he won’t make any commission. - If he doesn’t work harder, he won’t make any commission. - If he doesn’t work harder, he won’t make any commission.
Listen: If the film starts at 7, we’ll have time for dinner. Repeat: we’ll have time for dinner. - If the film starts at 7, we’ll have time for dinner - If the film starts at 7, we’ll have time for dinner
Listen: If I help you, will you do me a favour? Repeat:
do me a favour? - will you do me a favour? - If I help you, will you do me a favour? - If I help you, will you do me a favour?
Listen: If you aren’t very hungry, I’ll only make a salad. Repeat: make a salad. - I’ll only make a salad. - If you aren’t very hungry, I’ll only make a salad. - If you aren’t very hungry, I’ll only make a salad.
¡Muy bien! ¡Bien hecho! - Very very good!
Now, also in the intermediate section this month we studied some adjectives of character and personality. Vamos a ver si recuerdas el vocabulario.
What do you call a person who doesn’t notice what is happening around her/him and who very often forgets things? This kind of person is - absent-minded - despistado. Repeat: absent-minded. My dad's very absent-minded. He's always forgetting things. Actually, my girlfriend says the same thing about me. She says I'm absent-minded. You're as absent-minded as your dad!", she says. We can say in English "Like father, like son." which means you're the same as your dad. You're just like your dad. Repeat: Like father, like son.
What's the name in English for someone who believes in his/her own values and abilities. - self-confident. Repeat: self-confident. Self-confident is the adjective. He's a very self-confident young man. What's the noun? self-confidence. Repeat: self-confidence - He's got a lot of self-confidence. He's full of self-confidence.
A person who shows good sense and judgement. A practical and logical person is sensible. He's very sensible he's got a lot of sense. He's a sensible boy.
Someone who is difficult to please because they only like a few things, or they like things in a particular way and will only accept exactly what they want is... fussy. Repeat: fussy. I'm quite fussy with some things. My mum's very fussy with her food. Do you say 'especial' in Spanish? Ella es muy especial con la comida - She's really fussy. Repeat: she's really fussy. She's such a fussy girl. She won't eat any vegetables.
What do you call someone who will listen to you. A person who's ready to understand you and help you? This kind of person is sympathetic. Repeat: sympathetic. She's very sympathetic. What's the noun of sympathetic? Sympathy. I have absolutely no sympathy for you.
Next, this type of person is determined and will not change her/his point of view even if he/she is wrong. Stubborn (tozudo). Repeat: stubborn. He's a stubborn man - my boss is so stubborn. He never admits being wrong or making a mistake. A similar word is obstinate. You're so obstinate.
A person who changes temperament and has a variable character, the kind of person who can be happy one minute and miserable, annoyed and depressed the next minute is called a.......moody person. - malhumorado - Repeat: moody. Don't be so moody. Cheer up!
Someone who doesn’t like being the centre of attention and feels uncomfortable with others. This person is not typically very sociable. Do you know?- shy - timido o timida - repeat - shy. I'm really quite shy. I am! I'm a shy person.
Somebody who is always smiling, optimistic and in a good mood is cheerful - repeat: cheerful - You're very cheerful today. She's a cheerful, happy person.
And finally, what do you call somebody who tries to hurt or upset people on purpose, someone who doesn't care about how these people feel. A cruel person. Repeat: cruel - don't be cruel. You're such a cruel person.
OK, listen to the adjectives again and repeat them after me to practise pronunciation.
absent-minded
self-confident
sensible
fussy
sympathetic
stubborn
moody
shy
cheerful
cruel
Moving on! In the advanced section, we looked at some more collocations. The first of which was to meet a deadline. Deadline is fecha límite and to meet a deadline is cumplir con la fecha de entrega. Por ejemplo: Will you be able to meet the deadline? repeat: meet the deadline - Can you meet the deadline. They were unable to meet our deadline.
To shed a tear is another way to say to cry. Be careful with the word tear because the spelling, T-E-A-R is the same as the verb to tear (arrancar). Listen to the difference in the pronunciation: tear and tear. Tear is lagrima. Repeat: tear - to shed a teat. Don't shed any tears for me.
The next collocation was to cast light on (something). To cast means lanzar, echar. So to cast light on something simply means to throw or put light on a situation or a problem. Someone who casts light on a situation provides an explanation for it or information that makes it easier to understand. Repeat: to cast light on something. As a lawyer, he was able to cast some light on the problem.
Another thing you can cast is a net, una red, as fishermen do. Metaphorically speaking, if you cast your net wider you look in a larger area. If we don't get many interesting candidates this time round we may have to cast our net a little wider.
You can also cast doubt on something si tienes una duda sobre algo. The police cast doubt on his story. They didn't really believe him. Repeat: to cast doubt. They cast doubt on his story.
Another collocation with cast is to cast a shadow. shadow is sombra, and my students often ask me the difference between shadow and shade, because in the dictionary, shade is also sombra. Well, shadow is the dark shape that the sun makes when it shines on an object. So, if you walk along the street on a sunny day you see your shadow on the ground.
But shade is an area that the sun doesn't get to. It has no clear shape. You can sit in the sun or in the shade. On very hot days in Valencia, I prefer to sit in the shade. Shade is an uncountable noun. Shadow is a countable noun. The old house was full of dark shadows. Repeat: Shade - to sit in the shade. Let's sit in the shade. Shadow - to cast a shadow - That building is casting a long shadow on the ground.
Another collocation with cast is to cast your mind back, which is when you try to remember something. Repeat: cast your mind back - cast your mind back to when we first met. Cast your mind back is usually followed by 'to'. "Cast your mind to when..." or "Cast your mind back to the time when..." or "Cast your mind back to September of 2012.
The first collocation we looked at was to meet a deadline. Also with the verb meet we can say to meet your match. If you have met your match you have met someone who is equal to you or able to defeat you in some way. Repeat: to meet your match - He finally met his match when he was beaten by a computer.
Another thing you can meet is disaster. He met with disaster as the rope snapped and he fell to his death. You can meet with disaster and with triumph and in the famous poem 'If' by Rudyard Kipling: "If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two impostors just the same."
If you compromise with someone, we can say that you meet them halfway. Repeat: to meet someone halfway. I think we should meet them halfway on this. I won't give in completely, but I'll meet you halfway.
To shed a load is an expression often used when a lorry or truck loses the load it's carrying by accident and it drops it all over the motorway or highway. Notice that lorry and motorway are British English terms, while truck and highway are more common in American English. Repeat: to shed a load. A lorry shed its load on the M25 this morning during the rush hour.
If you bleed we can say that you shed blood. To shed blood can also mean to kill in a violent way. No blood was shed during the revolution. Repeat: to shed blood. A lot of blood was shed when the rebels took the village.
Listen to the collocations and expressions again and repeat them after me:
meet a deadline
shed a tear
shed light on (something)
cast a net
cast doubt on (something)
meet your match
shed a load
meet with disaster
cast a shadow
cast your mind back
meet (someone) halfway
shed blood
In the Business English section we looked at some more business English vocabulary, and the first word was tangible (something real or concrete - tangible). Repeat: tangible. We didn't see any tangible benefits. There were no tangible differences.
To reap - R-E-A-P is a verb and an agricultural term. It means cosechar, recoger. If you reap the benefits of a situation you get the benefit - cosechar los frutos, you profit from something. Repeat: to reap the benefits. I hope that we can reap the benefits in the future. You can also reap the rewards and reap the profits.
If you measure up (to someone or something) you compare well to someone or something. Repeat: to measure up - He just doesn't measure up to Sarah in intelligence. - This meal doesn't measure up to my expectations. Do you think he'll measure up to the job?
Tech support is technical support or servicio técnico. Repeat: tech support. If you need help, contact tech support. The tech support team is familiar with the ins and outs of a device. They are able to troubleshoot most problems that a user experiences. Technical support may be provided over the phone, through email, or with a live-chat interface.
If you see eye to eye with someone, you are in agreement with them. Repeat: to see eye to eye. I think we see eye to eye on this - We never saw eye to eye on this question. We don't really see eye to eye on this issue. We just can't seem to agree on it.
Our last expression was to write someone or something off. It's a phrasal verb. To write off. To write off means to drop something from consideration, to give up on something. For example, we're not making any money on this product. In fact, we're losing money! I think we should write it off. In the Spanish dictionary, it says descartar o declarar siniestro total - to write off.
I'm sure they'll recover. Let's not write them off just yet.
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 your pronunciation. Ready?
It rained all night. - Llovió toda la noche. - It rained all night. Repeat: - It rained all night.
I haven't had this much fun since the Eighties. - No me he divertido tanto desde los años ochenta. Repeat: - since the Eighties - this much fun - this much fun since the Eighties. - I haven't had - I haven't had this much fun since the Eighties.
You're the prettiest girl in this bar. - Eres la chica más bonita en este bar. - Listen: You're the prettiest girl in this bar. Repeat: - the prettiest girl - the prettiest girl in this bar - You're the prettiest girl in this bar.
I can't really speak Spanish; I only learned a few phrases from a website.
Realmente no puedo hablar español; solo aprendí unas frases de una página web. Listen: - I can't really speak Spanish. Repeat: - I can't really speak Spanish. I only learned a few phrases from a website. - from a website. - learned a few phrases - I only learned a few phrases - I only learned a few phrases from a website.
It was such a boring meeting that I fell asleep. - Fue una reunión tan aburrida que me dormí. Repeat: I fell asleep. - a boring meeting - It was such a boring meeting - It was such a boring meeting that I fell asleep.
Good, now I'll read some Spanish sentences and you translate to English. Then, repeat the sentences after me to practise your pronunciation. OK?
Este pastel es suya, ¿no? (de él) - This cake is his, isn’t it? Repeat: This cake is his, isn’t it? - This cake is his, isn’t it?
La habitación de mi hermana está allí. - My sister’s room is over there. Repeat: over there - My sister’s room is over there. - My sister’s room is over there.
¿Quién lo pisó? - Who stepped on it? Repeat: - Who stepped on it?
Perdía el vuelo. - I missed the flight Repeat: - I missed the flight
Así es la vida. - That’s life! Repeat: - That’s life!
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 por favor 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.
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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.