English Culture: The Union Flag

Officially known as the Union Flag, the flag of United Kingdom is popularly known as Union Jack. Do you know more things about this flag an at the same time improve your English? If tour answer is affirmative...Come on! Continue reading!

The full name of United Kingdom is United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.  Great Britain consists of England, our loved Scotland (our teacher Chris is a proud Scotish) and Wales. 

United Kingdom is simply referred to as UK in common parlance, but Wales is not currently represented in the flag of United Kingdom because it was part of England when the first version of the flag was designed.

If you have noticed some member counties of the Commonwealth also use the British flag in the corner of their flags.

When the first flag was created in 1606, it was known simply as ‘the flag of Britain’ or ‘the British flag’.

However, the flag of the United Kingdom that we know today dates from 1801, the year in which Ireland was united with Britain. However, before 1603, the Union Jack was very different than today’s flag. England, Scotland and Ireland were separate nations, each of them having their own individual flags.

The Union Jack, one of the world’s most recognizable flags, combines the symbols of England’s patron saint St. George (red cross on a white background), Scotland’s patron saint St. Andrew (diagonal white on blue) and Ireland’s patron saint San Patricio (diagonal red cross on white). Wales is not shown on the flag of the United Kingdom because, as we have said before, when the first version of the flag was created in 1606, Wales was part of England. The original flag of United Kingdom was much larger in size than those of the US flag and the flags of many other countries.

Evolution of the British Flag

The Union flag has undergone many changes since the first official flag of 1606.After the death of Queen Elizabeth I of England in 1603, King James VI of Scotland became ruler of England and came to be known as King James I of England. Since Queen Elizabeth was unmarried, she wanted King James VI, her cousin to succeed her.

In order to represent the union between these two countries, King James I, hit upon the idea of commissioning a new flag in 1606. The first version of the British flag came into being in 1606.

When Ireland became a part of Great Britain in 1801, the British Flag was redesigned to include the Cross of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. It is in this form that the British flag that we know today exists.  In 1921, when Ireland gained independence from United Kingdom, the cross representing Ireland continued to remain on the flag because Northern Ireland was a part of Britain at that time.

When is the Union Jack flown?

The flag should be displayed on government buildings on days marking Remembrance Day, Coronation Day, Commonwealth Day, official birthday of the Queen and on the days of the prorogation of Parliament and State Opening. However, this is not the flag which is on Buckingham Palace, this is one of the two Royal Standard flags. But this is an issue for another post.

Enjoy learning English at Aulaglobal English School. Lorca

Inglés en Lorca. B1,B2;C1. Cambridge y Trinity para adultos.

Inglés Infantil-Bachillerato.

B1,B2 de inglés para jóvenes.

Cursos ingles verano 2017.

Ya no tienes excusas para sumergierte en el inglés. Este verano en Aulaglobal te ofrecemos un abanico de posibilidades para poder aprender y mejorar tu inglés en Lorca.
 Llama y preguntanos sin compromiso, seguro que nos adaptamos a tus necesidades.

verbs with infinitive or gerund

Verbs followed by ‘ing’ or by ‘to + infinitive’ 

When one verb is followed by another, the second verb can either be an infinitive or an –ing form. Some verbs can be followed by either an infinitive, or an –ing form but with a change in meaning. These are some of the most common ones.

LIKE

• I like watching old films on TV.

With an ‘ing’ form, ‘like’ means ‘enjoy’

• I like to wash up as soon as I finish eating.

I might not enjoy washing up but I think it’s the right thing to do.

Remember that ‘would like’ can only be followed by an infinitive.

• I’d like to go to Japan next year, if possible.

TRY

I’m trying to learn Japanese but it’s very difficult.

Try + to + infinitive means that something is difficult and you make an attempt to do it.

• Have you tried using butter instead of oil?

Try + ‘ing’ means make an experiment. It’s not difficult – it might work, it might not.

STOP

Stop + ‘ing’ tells us what has stopped. in this example, buying a newspaper.

• I’ve stopped buying a newspaper every day to try to save money.

Stop + to + infinitive tells us why something stopped. In this example the reason that the bus stopped was to pick up the children.

• The bus stopped to pick up the children.

REMEMBER / FORGET

• Don’t forget to post that letter for me.
• Did you remember to post that letter for me?

Remember/forget + to + infinitive means that you remember something you have to do – a duty or a chore.

• I’ll always remember meeting you for the first time.
• I’ll never forget meeting you for the first time.

Remember/forget + ‘ing’ form means remember something you did in the past – an event or an activity.

Allow, permit or let?

Allow, permit or let?

·         Permit/allow someone + to do something

·         Let someone + do something

·         Passive with permit and allow

Allow, permit and let are verbs that all have a similar meaning: ‘give permission or make it possible for somebody to do or have something’.

Permit is more formal than allow. Allow is more formal than let:

The University has established a Museums Committee to permit more formal discussion of common problems amongst its museums.

The plan for Heathrow will allow airport operator BAA to build a third, shorter runway.

Will you let me pay for the meal?

Let me show you how to open it. It’s a bit tricky.

Permit/allow someone + to do something

We use a direct object + to-infinitive after permit and allow:

[from a newspaper report about a rugby player]

He has not decided yet whether his leg injury will permit him to play this weekend.

I would not allow a child to have a TV or a computer in their room.

Let someone + do something

We use an infinitive without to after let:

[child to parent]

Why don’t you let me go? All my friends are going.

We don’t let employees use the office telephone for personal calls.

Passive with permit and allow

We often use the passive with permit and allow. Permit is often used for official public notices:

Photography is permitted for non-commercial use only.

[talking about a diet]

You’re allowed to eat as much fruit as you like.

We’re not allowed to put posters on the walls.

Warning:

We don’t usually use the passive with let:

The children were allowed to do whatever they wanted.

Not: The children were let do …

Summer Idioms

Now that summer is comming and we are preparing our intensive courses for July and August we would like to teach you some expressions and idioms related to this season, so you can tell everyone all about your holidays!

Here you have the expressions:

The dog days of summer- The hottest period of the summer, typically three weeks or so between July and August. The expression dates back to the Romans!.

 During the dog days of summer it’s too hot to do anything but relax and go swimming.

Indian summer- An unusually warm, dry period in the autumn, almost like an extension of summer.

The children really enjoyed the Indian summer because they could go to the beach in October!

Travel on a shoestring- Typical of university students and other young people, this means to travel very cheaply, staying in youth hostels, and always looking for deals and discounts to make the trip as cheap as possible

 I really learned how to travel on a shoestring when I studied abroad.

Off the beaten path- If you travel off the beaten path, you stay away from the most popular and touristy sights and go instead to places where you may get a more authentic experience.

We’re hoping to get off the beaten path on our next trip to Italy and see some of the undiscovered beauty of the country.

Soak up some sun- Quite simply, to spend some time in the sun and get a tan.

Sandra can’t wait to lie by the pool and soak up some sun on her vacation.

To be off on your vacation- The phrase “to be off” in this case means “to be away.” The expression, then, means to be on holiday, but implying that you’ve traveled somewhere a distance away.

My parents are off on their vacation in Alaska at the moment.

One swallow doesn’t make a summer- An expression that means that just because one good thing has happened doesn’t necessarily indicate that the tendency will continue.

 His baseball team won the first match in the tournament, but one swallow doesn’t make a summer. They still have four more games to go!

A summer fling- A short romance during the summer holidays that typically ends before returning to school and/or university in the fall.

Sandy and Danny started out as a summer fling, but ended up staying together after discovering they went to the same high school.

To beat the heat- To escape the heat of summer, typically by finding indoor activities, places to go swimming, etc.

 We’re going to beat the heat by going to the cinema today. They always have the air conditioning turned on.

The midnight sun- This refers to places near the Arctic or Antarctic regions where the sun shines nearly 24 hours.

In Finland I was able to go kayaking under the midnight sun. It was incredible how much light there was so late at night!

What are you doing this summer? Can you use any of these expressions to describe your next holidays? We look forward to hearing from you! and remeber, If you want to improve your English level join in our intensives courses this Summer and get your B1 or B2 certificate.

hear or Listen? That's the question today.

Seguro que más de una vez te has preguntado cual usar. hoy vamos a intentar aclarar tu duda pero ya sabes si quieres aprender ingles, Aulaglobal English School te ofrece cursos intensivos de B1 y B2 en Lorca

‘Hearing’ is an event; it is something which happens to us as a natural process. ‘Listening’ is an action; it is something we do consciously.

Compare:

hearing is an event.	listening is an action.
Suddenly I heard a noise. Someone was in the garden. Did you hear the thunder last night? [on the phone] The line is very bad. I can’t hear you.	I listenedvery carefully towhat she said and wrote it all down. Do you listen tothe radio in bed? George! Listen tome! I have something important to tell you.

Sometimes we can use either hear or listen to, depending on whether we want to emphasise the event or the action:

Did you hear that interview with David Beckham on the radio yesterday? (emphasis on the event)

Did you listen to that interview with David Beckham on the radio yesterday? (emphasis on the action)

I love hearing/listening to the sound of falling rain.

We don’t normally use hear in the continuous form. We often use hear with can:

[on an internet phone call]

I can hear you really clearly.

Not: I’m hearing you really clearly.

Warning: 

We use to after listen before an object:

Every morning I listen to my Mozart CD while I’m having breakfast. It prepares me mentally for the day.

Not: Every morning I listen my Mozart CD …

We use listen without to if we do not mention the object, or if it is a discourse marker:

Meena, listen! I don’t want you staying out late!

Listen, I was wondering if you could help me. (discourse marker beginning a new topic or phase of a conversation)

The music was beautiful. We just sat there and listened.

English Fun facts

Seguro que ya sabes que el inglés es la lengua más hablada del mundo  pero hay muchas cosas sobre el inglés que desconoces y te va a llamar a atención. Mira que fun facts ( curiosidades) tenemos para tí:

1) El inglés es el idioma con mayor presencia internacional. En 2015 había 67 Estados soberanos y 27 territorios donde el inglés era la lengua oficial. Además, es el idioma común de muchas profesiones a nivel mundial, como en el mundo de los negocios y en el de la aviación.

2) Solo hay dos palabras en inglés que terminan en "-gry": "angry" y "hungry". Quizá sea esa la razón por la que muchos estudiantes de inglés las confunden, así que... ¡cuidado!: estar enfadado y estar hambriento definitivamente no son lo mismo.

3) El alfabeto inglés tiene solo 26 letras... pero 44 sonidos diferentes. Esa es una de las razones por las que los españoles tenemos tantos problemas con la pronunciación, ya que estamos acostumbrados a que las palabras se lean "igual que se escriben".

4) La terminación en -ough es un dolor de cabeza para los estudiantes de inglés... y es que se pronuncia de hasta 9 maneras diferentes. Ouch.

5) Y hablando de dificultades de pronunciación, en inglés existen palabras que se pronuncian exactamente igual, pero no tienen ninguna letra en común. Es el caso de ewe y you o de eye y I. Lo que nos recuerda a este chiste... (Si al leerlo en voz alta lo pillas, ¡es que vas por buen camino!)

- What's a deer with no eyes?

- No-eye deer.

6) Y si aún no te has cansado de la pronunciación, debes saber que el trabalenguas (tongue twister) más difícil del idioma inglés es "The sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick". Si aún no te atreves con él, aquí tienes un par más para ir calentando la lengua:

The thirty-three thieves thought that they thrilled the throne throughout Thursday.

Can you can a can as a canner can can a can?

I wish to wish the wish you wish to wish, but if you wish the wish the witch wishes, I won't wish the wish you wish to wish.

7) Si te cuesta aprender vocabulario nuevo, no tienes por qué desesperarte: se calcula que un hablante inglés normal usa las mismas 400 palabras el 80 % del tiempo.

8) Si quieres seguir aprendiendo palabras nuevas, puedes empezar por marcarte como objetivo las 2.800 que usa en su día a día un inglés promedio. Sin embargo, en sus diccionarios hay unas 350.000 oficialmente reconocidas y se calcula que la cifra total es de aproximadamente un millón.

9) La frase más corta que se puede escribir en inglés es I am. Sujeto y predicado con sentido completo en solo tres letras.

10) Entre los números del 1 al 999 no encontrarás ni una sola vez la letra "a". (Si eres insomne y te has aburrido de contar ovejas, ¡puedes hacer la prueba!).

¿Te ha gustado el post? ¿Quieres aprende o mejorar tu inglés? Tu centro en Lorca es AULAGLOBAL English School. Ingles para todas las edades y a todos los niveles

idiomas and colours. Fluency.

idiom	meaning	example sentence
beet red	dark red (usually to describe face)	My sister's face turned beet red when I caught her singing in front of a mirror.
black and blue	bruised and beaten	We found the poor guy black and blue near the train tracks.
black and white	straight forward, very clear	The rules we gave the kids were black and white. No answering the phone or the door.
black out	faint	I always black out at the sight of blood.
black sheep	the odd or bad member of the group	My oldest brother was the black sheep in our family. He dropped out of school at fifteen.
born with a silver spoon in one's mouth	born into a rich family	Keiko hasn't worked a day in her life. She was born with a silver spoon in her mouth.
catch red handed	catch someone in the act of doing something wrong or illegal	The kids were caught red handed stealing chocolate bars.
golden opportunity	the perfect chance	The models' conference was a golden opportunity for me to sell my beauty products.
grey area, gray area	something without a clear rule or answer	Writing personal email in the office is a grey areathat needs to be discussed at the next meeting.
the green light	permission	The builders were given the green light to begin the tower.
green with envy	very jealous	I am green with envyover Julio's new wardrobe.
(have a) green thumb	be skillful in the garden	You can tell by her flower garden that Sheila has a green thumb.
have the blues	be sad or depressed	I always have the the blues during the winter time.
in the dark	unaware	Antoine left his wife in the dark about their honeymoon destination until they got to the airport.
in the red	in debt	When we were in the red we almost had to sell the house.
once in a blue moon	very rarely	We only go out for dinner once in a blue moon.
out of the blue	unexpectedly	I got a phone call from a long lost cousin out of the blue last week.
red tape	official or bureaucratic tasks	There is still some red tape to deal with in terms of the inheritance.
red eye	an airplane flight that takes off after midnight	I caught the red eye so that I would see the sunrise over the mountains.
roll out the red carpet	treat someone like royalty	When relatives come to town my grandmother rolls out the red carpet.
rose coloured glasses	unrealistic view	Paula imagines Hollywood with rose coloured glasses.
see red	be very angry	I saw red when that guy grabbed my sister's purse.
tickled pink	very pleased and appreciative	My mom was tickled pink when my father brought roses home for her.
true colours	real self	Suzanne doesn't show her true colours when we have guests over.
white lie	an innocent lie to protect another person's feelings	We told Grandma that her cake was delicious, which was actually a white lie.
with flying colours	with distinction.: He passed his C1 exam with flying colours

Some, any + -body / -one, + -thing, + -where

Los compuestos de some y any actúan de la misma manera que estos, es decir:

 SOME - Afirmativa y en la interrogativa para peticiones, ofrecimientos o cuando esperamos una respuesta afirmativa)

 ANY - Interrogativa y Negativa.

I saw somebody at the door. (Vi a alguien en la puerta.)

I did not see anybody at the door.

Did you see anybody at the door?

Would you like something to drink? (¿Quiere para beber?)



En vez de I did not see anybody there, también se puede decir I saw nobody there. Lo que no se puede hacer es negar dos veces: *I did not see nobody there. 



Da lo mismo decir somebody que someone, anybody que anyone, nobody que no-one. No-one se puede escribir también no one.


Any también puede significar "cualquier(a)" cuando el verbo es afirmativo.

You can take any pencil. (Puedes coger cualquier lápiz / Puedes coger el lapiz que quieras.)

Anybody can do it. It's very easy. (Cualquiera sabe hacerlo. Es muy fácil.)


Ya para terminar, véamos los siguientes ejemplos:

Somebody told me you were abroad. (Alguien me dijo que estabas en el extranjero.)

Nobody came to the meeting. (Nadie fue a la reunión.)

Was there anybody in the house? (¿Había alguien en la casa?)

I want something to eat. (Quiero algo de comer.)

I don't need anything. (No necesito nada.)

I need nothing. (No necesito nada.)

Would you like something to drink? (¿Quieres algo de beber?)

Is there anything in that drawer? (¿Hay algo en ese cajón?)

I want to go somewhere else. (Quiero ir a otro sitio.)

I didn't go anywhere. (No fui a ningún sitio.)

I went nowhere. (No fui a ningún sitio.)

Have you seen my car keys anywhere? (¿Has visto las llaves del coche en alguna parte?)

Colgamos tambiénun cuadro y un comic para resumir todo y darle al inglés una pincelada de humor.
Ya sabes donde puedes aprender inglés en Lorca: Aulaglobal English School.
 Inglés a todos los nivel y para todas las edades.

Cómo decir me gusta y ser algo original

¿Cuántas veces decimos en clase que en inglés hay muchas formas distintas de de expresar cuánto te gusta algo? Probablemente ya sepas decir “I like…”. Sin embargo, hay muchísimas más formas de expresar tus gustos y tus preferencias. Trata de aprender todas las que puedas e incorpóralas a tu vocabulario practicándolas en clase, así harás tuyas las expresiones y tu inglés sonará más fluido y natural.  

Recuerda que los verbos de gusto y preferencia, salvo que indiquemos lo contrario, van seguidos de sustantivo o verbo en gerundio.

¿Vamos a ello?

To be keen on…

Ejemplo:

I’m really keen on running right now.

(Ahora mismo soy muy aficionado a correr)

To be into…

Ejemplo:

My friend Antonio has always been into reading

(A mi amigo Antonio siempre le ha gustado leer.)

To be fond of…

Ejemplo:

I am really fond of my family.

( Estoy muy apegada a mi familia.)

It appeals to me…

Va precedido de sustantivo o gerundio.

Ejemplo:

Austrreally appeals to me.

(Australia me llama mucho.)

To be mad/crazy about…

Ejemplo:

Kids are crazy about the new Disney movie!

(¡Los niños están como locos con la nueva película de Disney!)

To be partial to…

Ejemplo:

Although my wife is blonde, the truth is I used to be partial to dark haired women.

Aunque mi mujer es rubia, la verdad es que yo solía preferir las mujeres morenas

To have (got) a soft spot for…

Ejemplo:

I’ve got a soft spot for Italian wine

(Tengo debilidad por el vino italiano)

To fancy…

Se usa cuando te gusta una persona.

Ejemplo:

Hey, do you fancy your new neighbour?

(Hey, ¿te gusta tu nuevo vecino?)

To dig…

Uso coloquial

Ejemplo:

I’m digging that shirt you’re wearing, where did you get it from?

(Me gusta la camisa que llevas, ¿de dónde la sacaste?)

To go down well with…

Suele ir seguido de un sustantivo.

Ejemplo:

Clint Eastwood’s new film has gone down well with moviegoers.

(La nueva película de Clint Eastwood ha gustado a los espectadores.)

To grow to like…

Tomarle el gusto a algo que antes no te gustaba o te era indiferente.

Ejemplo:

I can’t believe I’ve grown to like spinach.

(No me puedo creer que haya terminado cogiéndole el gusto a las espinacas.)

¿TE HA GUSTADO? En nuestras clases aprenderás más inglés y de forma amena y práctica. 

Aulaglobal English School tu centro de inglés en Lorca #LearningEnglishTogether