Gramática

Temas concretos de Gramática: verbos frasales, modales, voz pasiva, etc...

Léxico

Campos léxicos, sinónimos, antónimos, homónimos, falsos amigos, lenguaje tabú y un largo etcétera

Historias y humor

Pequeño cajón desastre para mis historias, anécdotas en mis clases, recuerdos...

Mis libros

Aquí podéis ver un pequeño resumen de mis libros más importantes

Charlas y conferencias

Las más significativas a lo largo de mi vida académica. Y las próximas

31/5/13

modals: special difficulties (3)


3.- MUST/SHOULD?

Both can mean ‘deber’, but must is always stronger, more assertive than should, so use must for moral or legal obligation, rules, commands or strong advice:

You must switch off your mobile phone in the cinema debes apagar tu móvil en el cine
You must smoke less debes fumar menos

and use should for convenience or less strong advice:

You shouldn’t eat so many cakes no deberías comer tantos pasteles.



Practice -3

* Complete with should or must as required

a.- You’re getting a pot belly; you ................ drink so much beer.
b.- There’s a school nearby, you ................ drive more slowly.
c.- He’s losing too much blood, we ............... call an ambulance at once.
d.- You work too hard, I think you ........................ slow down.


KEY TO PRACTICE -3


a.- shouldn’t; b.- must; c.- must; d.- should.

Sir Francis: to make love


make love. To make love, hacer el amor.

     He aquí otro limerick que Sir Francis solía citar co­mo típico ejemplo de humor inglés:

    A reckless young man from Fort Blaney
     Made love to a spinster named Janie.
            When his friends said, «Oh dear,
            She's so old and queer.»
     He replied, «But the day was so rainy!»

     Un temerario joven de Fort Blaney
     Le hizo el amor a una solterona llamada Janey.
     Cuando sus amigos le dijeron, «¡Pero alma mía,
     Es tan vieja y tan rara la tía!»
     El replicó: «¡Pero, y el agua que caía ese día!»
    
     No está mal como humor inglés, pero a mí me divertía más cuando, llegado a este punto, comparaba la forma de hacer el amor de la mujer inglesa y la francesa. Sir Francis, que según dicen, tenía una secreta admiración por la mujer francesa —aunque yo diría más bien por la mujer universal—, gustaba de mencionar la conocida comparación del Mayor Thompson[1], que había estado casado dos veces, primero con una inglesa y en segundas nupcias con una francesa.
     Decía que la inglesa, fiel a la tradición británica de considerar el amor más como deber conyugal que como placer (otro cliché más, sin base científica alguna), terminado el acto decía: «Do you feel better, darling?» («¿Te sientes me­jor, cariño?»), mientras que la francesa, más de acuerdo con la concep­ción latina de la vida, decía: «Ça t'a plu, chéri?» («¿Te ha gustado, cari­ño?»). Sir Francis añadía por su cuenta que la española solía decir: «¡Otro, por favor!», lo que provocaba no pocas risitas entre el alumnado femeni­no (la inmensa mayoría, por cierto).
     Pero dentro de esta tradición de «No sex, please, we're British» («Nada de sexo, por favor, que somos británi­cos»), el chiste más divertido que Sir Francis contaba cuando se encontra­ba «en vena» era el de aquel capitán inglés que en un bar de oficiales, tra­tando de congraciarse con su coronel, lo invita sucesivamente a un whisky, a un jerez y a una cerveza, a lo que invariablemente el coronel respondía (con ese estilo recortado británico que tan bien se le daba a  Sir Francis): «No, thanks, tried it once, didn't like it.» («No, gracias, lo probé una vez y no me gustó»). El capitán, desalentado por su poco éxito, va a marcharse ya cuando en ese momento entra una joven en el bar, y el coronel, que se da cuenta que quizá ha estado un poco seco con el capitán, y quiere arre­glar las cosas, le dice: «Wait a minute, captain, I'd like to introduce my daughter to you.» («Espere un momento, capitán, me gustaría presentarle a mi hija»), a lo que el capitán responde: «Your only daughter, I presume, sir.» («Hija única, supongo, señor»).
     Ante esta fina muestra de humor in­glés, los afortunados que se enteraban (Sir Francis lo contaba todo en in­glés, naturalmente) se reían de buena gana. A los que no se reían, Sir Fran­cis los obsequiaba con otra anécdota, la de aquel capitán de barco que te­nía la costumbre de reunir a los marineros en cubierta para contarles chis­tes con los que sus hombres se «retorcían» de risa. Pero una vez, al observar a uno que no se reía, preguntó: «What's the matter with that one, doesn't he like my jokes?» («¿Qué le pasa a ése, ¿no le gustan mis chistes»), a lo que le contestaron: «No, captain, it's only that he doesn't belong to this ship.» («No, capitán; es que no pertenece a este barco»). Si todavía había quien no se reía, Sir Francis recurría a uno de los «empollones» para que tradujera al español, y al final todo el mundo se reía, porque, ¿quién era el guapo o la guapa que se arriesgaba a que Sir Francis le espetara: «You don't belong to this class?» («¿No pertenece usted a esta clase?»).



[1] Pierre Dañinos, Les Carnets du Major Thompson.

30/5/13

modals:special difficulties (2)


2.- ‘PODER’ IN THE INFINITIVE AND FUTURE AND PERFECT TENSES

To translate ‘poder’ in the infinitive, the future or perfect tenses use to be able:

I won’t be able to come tomorrow – no podré venir mañana.
I haven’t been able to do it no he podido hacerlo.

Practice -2

* Complete the sentences with the adequate form of to be able

a.- In fifty years’ time I’m sure that everybody ........... to live to a hundred.
b.- I have your report, but I ........................ to read it yet.
c.- I’ve always wanted ............................... to speak Japanese.
d.- Martin has just phoned to say that he ......................... to come tomorrow.


KEY TO PRACTICE -2


a.- will be able; b.- haven’t been able; c.- to be able; d- won’t be able.

29/5/13

Sir Francis: ass


ass. La palabra ass (Am.E.) o arse (Br. E.), que significa ‘culo’, entra a formar parte de multitud de expresiones tabúes; he aquí algunas de las más usuales, extraídas de Los Apuntes Secretos de Sir Francis:

 an ass kisser/licker, un lameculos, un pelota 

the asshole , el ano

an asshole, un gilipollas/soplapollas/gili(puertas). El típico ejemplo de asshole, según Sir Francis, sería el de aquel via­jante americano que tiene que pasar la noche en una granja y le dan a elegir entre dormir with the baby o in the barn. Prefiere el granero, y a la mañana siguiente, al ver a un auténtico bombón en­trar a ordeñar la vaca, le pregunta: «Who are you?», y ella le con­testa: «They call me the baby» (“me llaman the baby”), y añade: «And you, who are you?», y el viajante contesta: «I'm the asshole who slept in the barn» (“yo soy el gilipollas que durmió en el granero”).

a kick in the ass, un contratiempo inesperado (algo que sienta como una pa­tada en el culo o en los cojones)


a pain in the ass, un incordio 

a shitass, un don nadie, un mierda;

a smartass, un sábelotodo, un enterado;

a greenass, uno que está verde/un inexperto;

ass-wipe, papel para limpiarse el culo, papel higiénico (toilet paper); 


kiss my ass!, ¡una leche!, ¡una mierda!, ¡vete a la mierda!; (lit) ¡bésame el culo!

you can stick/shove/ram/stuff it up your ass, puedes metértelo en el culo, donde te quepa, etc. (abreviado a menudo a stick it, shove it, ram it, stuff it, up your ass o up yours.

Sir Francis gustaba de intercalar algún que otro limerick para reforzar una explicación. He aquí uno, basado en un di­vertido juego de palabras (ass = asno y culo):

There was a pert lass from Madras 
Who had a remarkable ass
     Not rounded and pink,
     As you probably think.
It was gray, had long ears, and ate grass.

Había una vivaracha chica de Madras
Que tenía un notable ass.
No redondo y rosado,
Como probablemente has pensado.
Era gris, tenía largas orejas y comía yerba.



28/5/13

Modals : special difficulties (1)


1.- CAN/MAY?

· Can indicates mainly capacity or abilility to do sth:

I’m sure he can do (it) better than that estoy seguro de que puede hacerlo mejor.
My wife can speak French - mi mujer sabe hablar francés.

 · May indicates that sth is possible:

It may rain this afternoon - puede que llueva esta tarde.


· Both can and may can be used to indicate ‘permission’, but may is more formal than can:

Can I smoke? - ¿puedo fumar? (informal)
May I smoke? - ¿puedo fumar? (formal)

Practice -1

* Fill in the blanks with can or may as required

a.- Gwen ........... play the piano, but she ............... play the violin.
b.- He says he ........... come this weekend if he ............... find a cheap flight.
c.- ................. you walk a bit faster? We’re going to be late for the concert.
d.- The TV said that it .................... be colder tomorrow.
e.- If there’s anything I .................... do to help you give me a ring.
f.- Mum, ................. I borrow your necklace for Linda’s wedding?
g.- Excuse me, Madam, .................... I use your phone?

KEY TO PRACTICE - 1

a.- can; can’t; b.- may; can; c.- can; d.- may/might; e.- can; f.- can; g.- may.

26/5/13

Idiom of the week: the full monty

The full monty = everything, the lot, the works.

This idiom began to be used generally in the English-speaking world from its use as the title of a film (1997) about a group of unemployed British factory workers who raise money by staging a strip act (taking off all their clothes) at a local club.
The origin of the expression is uncertain. In Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, first published in 1870, but revised by Adrian Room (Cassell, 2000), we find the following explanation: "It may derive from ...the Spanish card game 'monte' (literally 'mountain', i.e a heap of cards)...or from Field Marshal Bernard Montmogery, nicknamed 'monty' (1887-1976), said to have begun everyday with a full English breakfast when campaigning in the African desert in the Second World War."

Examples:

"Do you mean they take off all their clothes?" "Yes, they go all the way, the full monty."
The wedding reception was magnificent; there was champagne, caviare, a three-couse meal, two bands - the full monty.

Word of the week: staycation

The present economic crisis, when many families can't afford to go anywhere for their holidays and are forced to stay at home, has brought about the coinage of the following curious blend: staycation = stay (at home) + vacation.

24/5/13

Agatha Christie: her Life and her Work


Como le dije a Javi Martín Real en una entrevista que me hizo no  hace mucho y que publicó en su espléndido blog (javiervallestero.blogspot.com), me encanta leer y releer las novelas de Agatha Christie y siempre se las he recomendado a mis alumnos, no solo por el interés que tiene tratar de descubrir al asesino por las pistas que la autora va dejando caer a lo largo del  relato, aunque a veces resulten engañosas, sino porque cada página de cualquier novela de Agatha Christie está llena de modismos y expresiones coloquiales que no han perdido actualidad y que les ayudan por tanto a mejorar su inglés. Si queréis saber algo más sobre su vida y su obra, aquí tenéis hoy una charla que di en la EOI de Málaga en diciembre de 2011:

AGATHA CHRISTIE: HER LIFE AND HER WORK

1.- Introduction: some facts and figures that make Agatha Christie great

First of all, I must thank you the Official School of Languages for having invited me to talk about Agatha Christie. I’m far from being an expert in literature and so I can really hold no claims for this honour, if we except the fact that I am and have always been a fan of Agatha Christie’s and have read and re-read all her books with pleasure.
Well, I’ll begin my talk by giving you some facts and figures about Agatha Christie that make her great:
- she wrote 94 books, including six romantic novels under the pseudonym of Mary Westmacott
- her novels have been translated into 103 languages
 - The Mousetrap, her most famous play, has been running in London since 1952 to the present day
- more than one thousand million copies of her books in English and another one thousand million in other languages have been sold
- in a normal year 5 million A. Christie paperbacks are sold in the United States alone

2.- Agatha Christie’s life

some important dates in Agatha Christie’s life

15th September 1890 – Born at Torquay, Devon, in Ashfield, her parents’ home. Her parents were Frederick Alvah Miller, an American businessman from New York and Clarissa Margaret Boehmer, called Clara by the family. She had one sister (Marjorie) and an elder brother (Louis) who she called Monty, both older than her. Agatha adored them both, especially Monty, although he used to tease her quite a lot. But Agatha’s childhood was a very happy one. In the first chapter of her Autobiography, which she began writing in April 1950 and finished 15 years later, in 1965, when she was 75 years old, she says: “One of the happiest things that can happen to you in life is to have a happy childhood. I had a very happy childhood. I had a home and a garden that I loved; a wise and patient Nanny; and as father and mother two people who loved each other dearly and made a success of their marriage and of parenthood.” Like the Victorian woman she was her mother gave Agatha a very good education, though she didn’t go to school for long. But she was taught at home and she was very good at Arithmetic, French (at speaking it, not at spelling), music, singing, etc. When she was 15 she was sent to Paris to a fashionable finishing school for young girls to complete her education.

1914 – Marries Archibald Christie – Lieutenant-colonel from the Royal Flying Corps. She fell in love with this handsome soldier, though as she later admitted that marriage was a mistake because they had nothing in common. But she didn’t have much experience with men. It’s true that she had flirted with many young men both in England and in  Cairo where she had been with her mother after her father’s death, but she had had no serious engagements. As a child she was very naive, and when she was 11 or twelve years old she believed what her sister Madge told her about how women had children: children came through the navel. The mother had a key to her daughter’s  navel and when she got married the mother gave the key to the husband. Anyway, she married Archie; this marriage lasted 14 years and she had a daughter, Rosalind, by him.

1920 – her first novel gets published by The Bodley Head (they published her first 6 novels, then her literary agent took her novels to Collins). The novel had previously been refused by several publishers and it took a year for it to be accepted.

1926 – On Dec. the 3rd, the Queen of Crime or the Duchess of Death as she preferred to be called, mysteriously disappears for 11 days. Her car, a green Morris, is found by a gypsy abandoned in a quarry. She was finally found at a hotel in Harrogate, Yorkshire, a fashionable resort near Leeds, where she had checked in with the name of her husband’s mistress, Mrs. Nancy Neele. Nowadays people would think it was a publicity stunt, but apparently Agatha suffered from amnesia. The mystery has never been solved. It’s been suggested that she wanted to teach her husband a lesson for his infidelity, but Agatha never mentioned this, not even in her autobiography, published by Collins one year after her death, so nobody knows the reason for her disappearence.

1928 – she divorces her first husband.

1930 – she marries Sir Max Mallowan, the famous archeologist, who was 14 years younger than her. Curiously, when they got married she gave her age as 37, three years less than she was and he, as 31, 5 years older than he really was. It was a very happy marriage. She’s reputed to have once said: “Marry an archeologist. The older you get, the more charming he will find you.” They loved and respected each other very much. She accompanied her husband in his archeological diggings in the Middle East (Baghdad, Nimrud) and help him classify the items that were found.
They were devoted to each other all their lives and they were together until Agatha’s death in January 1976. Sir Max Mallowan died two years later.

Nov. 25th 1952 – The Mousetrap’s first night at the Ambassadors Theatre in London. It had been previously presented in Nottingham on the 6th of October, where it had been a resounding success. The Mousetrap was later (1974) transferred to the larger St. Martin´s Theatre where it is still running. It holds the record for the play with the longest run in the history of the theatre and it has become a must for visitors to London. It was written by Agatha in 1947 as a thirty-minute radio play with the title Three Blind Mice to commemorate Queen Mary’s 80th birthday. When the BBC asked her what she’d want to celebrate the event Queen Mary said she would like a play by Agatha Christie. Agatha gave the rights to the play to Matthew Prichard, her only grandson, who has become a millionaire thanks to this.

Oct. 28th 1953 – Witness for the Prosecution’s first night in London. It was also highly successful and later it was filmed several times.

1971 – she’s granted the title Dame of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth. She said that it had been one of the happiest moments in her life.

Jan. 12th 1976 – she dies in Cholsey, near Wellingford, Oxfordshire, where she’s buried at St Mary’s, the parish church.

let’s check how good your memory is: what important events in agatha’s life happened on the following dates:

1971 –
1914-
1930 –
1952 –
1926 –
1976 -

KEY

1971 – made a Dame of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth.
1914 – she married Lieutenant-Colonel Archibald Christie
1930 – She married the famous archeologist Sir Max Mallowan, 14 years younger than her
1952 – Her most famous play, The Mousetrap, is produced in London, where it’s still running.
1926 – she disappears mysteriously for 11 days.
1976 – She dies in Cholsey, near Wellingford, Oxfordshire.

3.- Agatha Christie’s work

order the following novels by date of publication

 

Murder at the Vicarage
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
They Came to Baghdad
Elephants Can Remember
The Mysterious Affair at Styles
Murder on the Orient Express  

KEY

The Mysterious Affair at Styles – 1920 (her sister Marjorie told her once: “I’ll bet you can’t write a mystery to which I can’t guess the ending”. Agatha replied: “Wait and see. I have an idea going around in my head about medicine.” And in three weeks she had finished her first novel. Agatha had worked as a volunteer in the dispensary of a London hospital during the 1st World War, and there she had learnt quite a lot about poisons).
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd – 1926 (she was accused of playing a trick on her readers)

Murder at the Vicarage - 1930 (where Miss Jane Marple first appears)

Murder on the Orient Express – 1934 (filmed several times)
They Came to Baghdad – 1951 (also filmed)
Elephants Can Remember – 1972 (one of her last novels)

the most famous characters she created

Hercule Poirot – the Belgian detective (first appears at The Mysterious Affair at Styles, her first novel, 1920). Agatha describes him as follows: “ An extraordinary-looking little man. He was precisely five feet four inches tall; he carried himself with great dignity; his head was exactly the shape of an egg and he always had it perched a little to one side. And above all there was his moustache, very stiff and military and his pride and joy... he always wore striped trousers, correct black jacket, bow tie, and patent leather shoes, and a muffler if the weather was less than hot.” (Agatha ‘killed’ him in Curtain – 1975)

Miss Jane Marple, the spinster, living in the small village of St.Mary Mead (modelled on her great-aunt and her grandmother), first appeared in Murder at the Vicarage (1930). Agatha imagines her as follows: “a tall, slender, fragile, pink-and-white lady with silver curling hair and an expression of the utmost gentleness in her china-blue eyes.” (she appears for the last time in Agatha’s posthumous novel Sleeping Murder – 1976 – she doesn’t ‘kill’ Miss Marple, maybe because in a way she identified herself with this old lady).

her favourite novels

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - 1926
Moving Finger - 1942
Crooked House - 1949
The Pale Horse - 1961
Endless Night - 1967

4.- the language in Agatha Christie’s novels

colourful language: no lengthy descriptions, plenty of dialogues and idioms

Match the numbers with the letters

1.- to talk turkey
2.- to talk nineteen to the dozen
3.- to take a month of Sundays
4.- to send sb. off with a flea in their ear
5.- to put the wind up sb.
6.- He didn’t cut any ice with Helen
7.- To stick out one’s neck

a.- tardar un verano
b.- jugarse el tipo
c.- meter las cabras en el corral a alguien
d.- hablar con franqueza
e.- no hacía buenas migas con Helen
f.- echar a alguien con viento fresco
g.- hablar por los codos

KEY: 1-d; 2-g; 3-a; 4-f; 5-c; 6-e; 7-b

the grammar of some of her uneducated characters (maids, gardeners, etc.)

-         I says, instead of I say
-         he was took, instead of he was taken
-         there’s a man wants to see you, for there’s a man who/that wants to see you
-         hoping as you will forgive me for troubling you – for hoping that...
-         you mean Jackie Afflick as was in Fane & Watchman’s office - ...who was...
-         I did hear as you and your husband was some kind of relations – for I did hear that you and your husband were some kind of relations
-         the lady said as how you could do with a little extra help of a Wednesday – the lady said that you could do with a little extra help on Wednesdays
-         smoke me pipe in peace for smoke my pipe in peace
-         she didn’t have no luck for she didn’t have any luck
-         some people ain’t got no eye for geraniums no more for some people have no eye for geraniums any more

novel titles based on well-known nursery rhymes (verses read to children in bed before they go to sleep)

Match the numbers with the letters:

1.- Three blind mice, see how they run?
They all ran after the farmer´s wife,
who cut off their tails with a carving knife...

2.- Mrs McGinty’s dead. How did she die?
Sticking her neck out just like I...

3.- The clock struck one.
The mouse ran down
Hickory, dickory, dock.

4.- One, two,
Buckle my shoe;
Three, fout,
Knock at the door;
Five, six.
Pick up sticks;
Seven, eight,
Lay them straight;
Nine, ten,
A big fat hen...

5.- Ten little nigger boys went out to dine.
One choked his little self and then there were nine.
Nine little nigger boys sat up very late.
One overslept himself and then there were eight...
And then there were none.

6.- This little pig went to market;
This little pig stayed at home;
This little pig had roast beef;
This little pig had none;
And this little pig cried, wee-wee-wee-wee-wee,
I can’t find my way home.

a.- One, Two, Buckle my Shoe.
b.- Five Little Pigs.
c.- Ten Little Niggers (later And Then There None)
d.- Three Blind Mice (later the Mousetrap)
e.- Hickory, Dickory, Dock.
f.- Mrs. McGinty’s Dead.

KEY

1-d; 2-f; 3-e; 4-a; 5-c; 6-b

Well, that’s all. I hope you enjoyed my talk and are willing to say with me: “Thank you so much Agatha for the hours of fun that you have given us.” And I thank you for your kind attention.

Bibliography

Christie, Agatha, 1977, An Autobiography, London: Collins.
Robyns, Gwen, 1976, The Mystery of Agatha Christie, New York: Doubleday.
Opie, Iona and Peter (eds.), 1973, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

further notes

After A. Christie’s father’s death when she was 11 years old the family had some financial difficulties.
A. Christie’s idea of complete happiness was to have a houseful of servants.
In the 2nd World War, Greenway, A. Christie’s mansion in Devon was taken over by the Admiralty.
Hubert, her daughter’s Rosalind’s husband was killed in action in the war.
Charles Laughton played the judge’s role in Witness for the Prosecution (film).
20 months after A. Christie’s death, Sir Max Mallowan married a mutual friend of theirs, Barbara, also an archeologist. Agatha had always told her husband that if she were to die before him she would like him to remarry. This marriage lasted only a few months.



23/5/13

Can there be poetry in the world today?




CAN THERE BE POETRY IN THE WORLD TODAY?

I've recovered from my 'memory trunk' this essay that I wrote long time ago, when I was a student in Granada. I wrote it as homework for my teacher of American Literature, Dr Cardenal, one of the best teachers I've ever had, who introduced me to the great American poets, like  Robert Frost, Carl Sandburg and Walt Whitman, among others. Here is a contemporary version of my essay, in homage to Dr Cardenal, my respected and admired teacher: 

Hello, friends! It’s late in the evening and I’m alone in the house, well not exactly, I mean my wife is asleep and so are my children, as they have to get up early for school, and I’m alone in the sitting room watching TV, the last news bulletin: another bombing in Syria, thirty civilians dead, no forty, fifty-five, seventy...I turn off the TV, but I still hear the screams. Oh God! can’t anybody do something? Those children buried under the rubble, they need air, can’t you see they’re going to choke to death? Quick, give them some air that they may breathe...I stop my ears; silence, but I don’t feel like going to bed yet. I’ll read some poetry first...But can there be poetry in the world today? Is there a place for poetry in a world threatened by terrorism, missiles, nuclear plants, the greenhouse effect? Poetry in a world gone mad? If I am to give an answer, first I would have to know what Poetry is, have a go at defining it.
Poetry could be in Beauty; after all, wasn’t it Keats who wrote “a thing of beauty is a joy for ever?” Yes, that’s it, beauty, beautiful things, a classical statue for instance, the whiteness, the perfect harmony of the lines, a partially naked Aphrodite, a Venus de Milo...but the marble is cold and the hands and arms are missing, oh Christ!, the hands are missing from the dead body hanging from the roof of that discotheque in the island of Bali...They say there was a warning...I know, I know...
Love, then. That must be it. Poetry must be in love. “Poesía eres tú”, Becquer said to his beloved. But can you separate love from sex in our modern world? Ah, the all-powerful sex, lust, orgies...For goodness’ sake, shut up! I’m talking about love...I think I can hear somebody cry: “I loved him, do you hear, I loved my friend and he died in my arms, of AIDS, and towards the end he stared at me with vacant eyes, eyes that understood nothing.” ...The horror of all those innocent people trapped in the World Trade Center on that fateful 11th of September. And among their anguished, desperate pleas for help, a cry of love - Melissa’s  phone message to her husband from the 106th floor of the north twin tower a few minutes before it collapsed: “Sean, it’s me. I’m stuck in this building in New York. A plane hit the building or a bomb went off – we don’t know. But there’s lots of smoke and I just wanted you to know that I love you. Bye bye.”
I’ll ask again, can there be poetry in the world today? A world of Colas and Pepsis from America; hot dogs and hamburgers straight from Chicago, “the hog butcher for the world”, in Sandburg’s words. Computers from Japan and Taiwan, computers everywhere, computers in the bank, in government offices, at schools, personal computers at home, computers for children to play games on – “hello, children, here’s your daddy, home from work, won’t you kiss him good evening?” No answer; the following screen must be got to at all costs. “Our pacman can’t get killed.” “OK, OK., I understand” – pacman, there’s a new word for me, oh, the poetry of words, strange words, modern words, current words: mobbing, facelift, metrosexual, the Chernobyl factor, oil slicks in Alaska, ‘chapapote’ in Galicia’s coast, ‘cayucos’ arriving daily near the coasts of the Canary Islands, red tides in Japan, acid rain, aerosol cans, carbon dioxide, arms buildup, money laundry, the Tortilla Curtain, zombie food, words galore, words in a swirl, words, words, words, the ‘black magic’ of words...
Finally, in my study, I pick a book from my library shelves – a book of poems by Robert Frost – and I read at random: “My long, two-pointed ladder’s sticking through a tree/toward heaven still,/And there’s a barrel that I didn’t fill/Beside it...But I am done with apple-picking now.../And I am drowsing off...I should prefer to have some boy bend them [birches]/As he went out and in to fetch the cows-/Some boy too far from town to learn baseball...It [the West-running brook] flows between us, over us, and with us/And it is time, strength, tone, light, life and love...”
You, villagers of the world, if you read this enchanting verse, make sure you get Frost’s message, in his simple, everyday words, please, listen to his plea: go on picking your fruit, and drowsing off, afterwards; don’t come to town to learn baseball, or football, for that matter, if it can be helped; stay away from the killing crowds; grip your lover’s hand and sitting by the West or East running brook, watch its limpid waters flow towards the sea. Let it be your “strength, your life and your love.” Let us all “choose something like a star, to stay our minds on and be staid...” Oh, it’s really late, I’ll close my book now and try to get some sleep. Good night, friends...

22/5/13

Can Shakespeare be accused of male chauvinism?

In The Comedy of Errors, Act 3, Scene 2, Dromio of Syracuse is telling Antipholus, his master, about Nell, the kitchen-wench, who is pursuing him with marriage intentions:

Dromio: ...she is spherical, like a globe; I could find out countries in her.
Antipholus: In what part of her body stands Ireland?
Dro: Marry, sir, in her buttocks; I found it by the bogs (seguro, señor, en su culo junto a las ciénagas).
...
Ant.: Where Spain?
Dro: Faith, I saw it not, but I felt it hot in her breath.
...
Ant.: Where stood Belgia, the Netherlands?
Dro: O, sir, I did not look so low.

As happened with Shakespeare's expressions for 'copulate' that I posted a few days ago, I'm afraid some of my followers may find these terms used by Shakespeare to describe feminine private parts little flattering for women. In fact, some might even go as far as accusing him of male chauvinism but, in my modest opinion, that is out of the question. Shakespeare is a genius, and as such he's entitled to certain poetic licenses.

21/5/13

verbos frasales (and 10): clave ejercicios


KEY TO PRACTICE

PRACTICE 1

phrasal: to put off, to break down, to fill in, to put up with, to take after, to look forward to
non-phrasal: to abstain from, to complain about, to laugh at, to insist on, to smell of, to dream about/of

PRACTICE 2

1.- Yes, I saw him off
2.- Yes, I will look after it
3.- No, she hasn’t got over it yet
4.- OK, I’ll turn it down
5.- Yes, they’ll look into it.

PRACTICE 3

fully metaphorical: to make sth. up, to break out, to hang on, to come to/round
semi-metaphorical: to play on, to work away, to drink up
literal: to come in, to go up

PRACTICE 4

to go off = irse, explotar (bomba, fuegos artificiales), dispararse (pistola), sonar (despertador), echarse a perder (alimentos), dejar de gustar algo o alguien.

PRACTICE 5

wrong alternatives: a.- fall; b- spend it; c.- to have a drink; d.- fainted; e.- come to an end; f.- denying.

PRACTICE 6

A.- a-2; b-3; c-5; d-1; e-4

B.- a.- to have a photo enlarged; b.- the computer was temporarily disabled/there was no line; c.- they charged you too much; d.- to work less, to rest more, to eat, drink, smoke, etc. less.

verbos frasales (9): test de confianza en sí mismo


A quiz: let´s see how self-confident you are

a.- Do you easily blow up (lose your temper/get suddenly angry)..................
b.- If someone is rude to you, do you find it necessary to answer back (to reply in a rude way)? ...................
c.- Do you easily give up (lose interest and admit defeat)............................
d.- In a group, do you go along with (agree with) other people’s suggestions, even if you don’t like them, rather than make your own? ...................
e.- At meetings or discussions, you dare not break in (interrupt) even if you feel you have something really important to say? .....................
f.- Is it practically impossible for you to get on well with (to have a friendly relationship with) strangers?..................
g.- If someone you hardly know invites you to call on (to visit) him or her, are you too shy to accept?................
h.- In a shop, etc., do you let others push in (jump the queue) even if it’s your turn?..................
i.- At a party, does it take you long to warm up (to liven up)?....................
j.- If someone is wasting your time, do you find it impossible to invite him or her to push off (to go away)? .....................


SCORE    

always – 1 point
often – 2 points
sometimes – 3 points
seldom – 4 points
never – 5 points

KEY   

41-50                            you are full of self-confidence
31-40                            you are rather self-confident
21-30                            you are reasonably self-confident
11-20                            you are a bit shy
1-10    you are extremely shy and should try to            increase your self-confidence

verbos frasales (8): chistes


Jokes with phrasal verbs.

a.- to get on well with someone  = llevarse bien con alguien

Two friends meet in the street:

John: Hullo, Peter. I hear you’ve bought your mother-in-law a jaguar.
Peter: Yes, I have.
John: But I thought you didn’t get on well with her.
Peter: And I don’t. The jaguar has already bitten her twice.

b.- to drop off = quedarse dormido (lit. caerse de un sitio)

Patient: Doctor, doctor, I suffer from insomnia, I can’t get any sleep at night, what can I do?.
Doctor: You can't get any sleep, I see. Well, my advice is: sleep on the edge of the bed and you’ll soon drop off.
Patient: But, but, doctor, I don’t want to drop, I just want to sleep.
Doctor: I never said you'd drop, I said you'd soon drop off. Don’t you know your phrasal verbs? To drop off means to fall asleep.
Patient: Oh, I see, thak you so much, doctor.

Estos chistes van dedicados a mis siguientes alumnos de la EOI, que los representaron junto con otros sketches en su Phrasal Verbs Theatre Show: Luis Ramos López, Natalia Lecuona Swinburne, Loli Conde J., Carmen Reyes, Iván García Galagorri, Imma Sánchez Núñez, Concepción Ruíz Fernández, Rubén Muriel Herrera, Mari-Luz Villarejo, Isabel Tovar Luque, Rocío Díaz Ramírez y Elías Juan Díaz López.

20/5/13

Sir Francis: the organ


Para empezar con las anécdotas en las clases de Sir Francis, aquí tenéis esta entrada de los Apuntes Secretos:
organ, the. El órgano, el pene. Como ocurre con otras palabras: member (miem­bro), gun (pistola), etc., organ puede prestarse a malentendidos. Sir Francis contaba la siguiente anécdota: Un hombre que tiene ya diecisiete hijos va a un médico a que le aconseje algo para no tener más familia. El médico le dice: «Put a condom on your organ before intercourse». Pa­sado algún tiempo, el doctor se extraña de que la mujer se hubiera queda­do embarazada otra vez, le pregunta si siguió sus instrucciones y el tonto le explica: «I got no organ, but I put it on the piano every time» (no tengo órgano, pero lo puse en el piano todas las veces).
            Y ahora, una adivinanza: Where’s an elephant’s sex organ? – In his feet: if he steps on you you’re fucked (¿Dónde tiene el elefante el órgano sexual? – En los pies: si te pisa, te jode).

19/5/13

Léxico: idioms of the week

Exercise: Match the letters with the numbers

a- grin and bear it

b- not be over the hill yet

c- it's nothing to write home about

d- take somebody down a peg or two

e- at the back of beyond

f- I smell a rat

g- beat about the bush

h- clutch at straws

i- let somebody down

j- take somebody for a ride


1- donde Cristo dio las tres voces/perdió el gorro

2- no es nada del otro jueves

3- agarrarse a un clavo ardieno

4- bajarle los humos a alguien

5- al mal tiempo buena cara

6- llevar a alguien al huerto

7- no estar acabado todavía

8- andarse con rodeos

9- fallarle a alguien

10- aquí hay gato encerrado

KEY

a-5; b-7; c-2; d-4; e-1; f-10; g-8; h-3; i-9; j-6

Word of the week: chugger


Chugger (someone who is paid to stop people in the street and persuade them to give money regularly to a Charity - persona a la que pagan para que aborde a la gente en la calle, tratando de convencerlos para que den dinero de forma regular a una causa benéfica) is an example of blend, a type of word formation in which two words are combined to form a new word that incorporates their meanings, for example motel from motor and hotelChugger is made up of charity + mugger (caridad + 'atracador' en lugar público).
Another name given to blends is portmanteau words, a term invented by Lewis Carroll (1831-1898), who produced some of them in his novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, for example to chortle (reír con ganas) = to chuckle + snort. Here are some more examples of blends:

brunch = breakfast + lunch (desayuno-almuerzo)

cheeseburger = cheese + hamburger (hamburguesa con queso)

chunnel =channel + tunnel (tunel bajo el Canal de la Mancha, Eurotunel entre Gran Bretaña y el continente europeo)

Eurovision = European + television (Eurovisión)

paratroops = parachute + troops (paracaidistas).