Gramática

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

31/3/15

Oh, to be in England now that April's there

Mañana empieza el mes de abril, tiempo ideal para visitar Inglaterra, como nos recuerdan estos preciosos versos de Robert Browning (1812-1889): Oh, to be in England, Now that April’s there, And whoever wakes in England Sees, some morning, unaware, That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf, While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough In England - now! And after April, when May follows, And the whitethroat builds, and all the swallows - Hark! where my...

26/3/15

Idioms: hand/mano

Algunos modismos ingleses con 'hand' tienen un equivalente en español, con la palabra 'mano'; en otros, sin embargo, no aparece tal palabra en la traducción; así, por ejemplo, para 'to give/lend sb a hand', tenemos 'echar una mano' en español, pero traducimos 'the situation is well in hand' por 'la situación está bajo control'. Vamos a tocar hoy algunos modismos con 'hand', en cuyos equivalentes en español no aparece la palabra 'mano' y, a la inversa, es decir algunos modismos españoles con 'mano', con equivalentes en inglés en los que no sale...

23/3/15

Pincelada gramatical: Colocación de proper, present, involved y above.

A efectos prácticos, conviene saber que las palabras proper, present, involved y above, pueden encontrarse colocadas delante o detrás de un sustantivo, pero el significado cambia: a proper conduct - una conducta apropiada the celebrations proper - las celebraciones propiamente dichas the present members - los miembros actuales the members present - los miembros aquí presentes a very involved problem - un problema muy complejo the problem involved - el problema en cuestión the above powers - los poderes ya mencionados the powers above...

15/3/15

Sayings with the word 'devil'.

Today we're going to have a look at idioms with 'devil'. Actually,  the Devil may or may not exist, but lots of sayings with the word 'devil' are still around. Here are some of them: to be a little devil - ser un diablillo (said esp of a child) to be a lucky devil - ser un tipo con suerte to be a poor devil - ser un pobre diablo to miss the old devil - echar de menos (a alguien que se apreciaba, etc): I miss the old devil - lo echo de menos be a devil! - (IBr) (col) ¡atrévete! to be between the devil and the deep blue...

7/3/15

Historias y humor: The Famous Psychiatrist

Here's the story The Famous Psychiatrist from my book Short Stories to Hep You Increase Your Vocabulary http://www.amazon.es/gp/product/B00PPCRKRY, I hope you like it: UNIT 7 THE FAMOUS PSYCHIATRIST When a woman is talking to you, listen to what she says with her eyes. (Victor Hugo) His name was Charles D. and he was famous. People talked and talked about the miraculous results he got, and his methods were beginning to be copied by some Harley Street specialists. Only very well-off people could afford to pay his fees, and they had...

1/3/15

Phrasal verbs with take; exercises at three levels.

Complete the phrasal verbs with the appropriate particle, and translate into Spanish: elementary level 1.- I'm afraid your plane has just taken ...... 2.- The little one takes ...... me - he loves animals. 3.- He took the afternoon ...... 4.- He has taken ...... drinking. 5.- That table takes ...... too much room. 6.- That's a lot of money; I'm afraid you've been taken ...... 7.- Myrna took ...... judo when she was 10. 8.- You can take ...... four books at a time. intermediate level 1.- They took ...... each other at once. 2.-...