“Back to school” and other English expressions with “back”

We’re in the middle os September, which means something special for millions of students and teachers around  the world . . . it’s time to go back to 

Of course, at Aulaglobal, September is also a “back to school” month because we have open enrollment, some students (preschool, and primary)  begin their classes and we know teenagers and adults are looking forward to Octobe when they back to English.

So... Why don’t we have a look at some expressions with “back”?

Back and forth (idiom)

Moving in one direction and then in the other direction.

Example: I went back and forth in the parking lot because I

couldn’t find my car!

Back off (phrasal verb)

Move back to give someone space; stop being so aggressive

Example: He has worked for our company for 6 weeks, and he keeps asking our boss for a raise. I think he needs to back off.

Back to Back (idiom)

One right after the other

Example: We watched the Lord of the Rings movies back to back yesterday.

To go behind someone’s back (idiom)

To do something and another person does not know.

Example: He went behind my back and tried to get my job!

Way back when (idiom)

A long time ago.

Example: My grandpa was a professional runner way back when.

Good luck to all of you for this new course, although we know our students don’t need luck to get their goals. 

Formación de palabras en inglés - FCE

Hoy en clase de B2 hemos hecho varios ejercicios sobre la formación de palabras en inglés. Reconozco que para algunos alumnos la tercera parte del Use of English del FCE

es una auténtica pesadilla , aunque para mi sea una de las más fáciles. Se trata de un texto con huecos, en el que debemos completar cada hueco con una palabra derivada de una raíz, por ejemplo: a partir de FREE, libre, debemos completar el hueco con FREEDOM, libertad.

Para formar todas estas palabras hay una buena cantidad de sufijos que añadimos a la raíz de la palabra. No existen reglas exactas sobre qué prefijo debe usarse para una palabra en cuestión. Sé que no es justo, pero es así. Ahora bien, no hay reglas, pero sí patrones, y esa es la buena noticia. Existen distintos patrones que se repiten, según la palabra sea un sustantivo, adjetivo, etc. En el artículo de hoy voy a darte la fórmula para: 1) detectar todos esos prefijos y sufijos, y 2) aprender las distintas formas de una palabra y jamás olvidarlas, la mejor forma de memorizarlas.

Sufijos para formar sustantivos (se añaden al final de la palabra)

-tion / -sion: el más famoso de todos, indica un estado o acción, proceso, etc. Buenos ejemplos serían examination (examinación), relaxation(relajación), expansion (expansión).

-er: significa la persona que realiza una actividad o acción derivada de un verbo: to paint (pintar) se convierte en painter (pintor). Más ejemplos serían: writer (escritor), farmer (granjero), teacher.

-ment: parecido a –tion, indica resultado o acción de algo. Ejemplos: development (desarrollo), punishment (castigo, del verbo punish, castigar), movement (movimiento).

-ence/-ance: una acción o estado. Por ejemplo: preference (preferencia),allowance (del verbo allow, permitir, allowance es una prestación), assistance (asistencia).

-dom: un estado o condición. Un buen ejemplo es Freedom, libertad, o boredom (aburrimiento).

-al: señala el proceso o estado de algo. Por ejemplo: proposal(propuesta), arrival (llegada).

-ship: indica habilidad, estado o condición. Ejemplos clásicos serían friendship (amistad), citizenship (ciudadanía), relationship (relación).

-cy: indica condición o estado. Urgency, urgencia.

-ness: condición o estado de algo. A raíz de algunos adjetivos, como dark, sad o mad, tenemos darkness (oscuridad), sadness (tristeza) o madness (locura).

Sufijos para formar adjetivos

-ive: que posee la naturaleza de, con tendencia a. Por ejemplo: attract, atraer, attractive (atractivo/a), repeat, repetir, da lugar a repetitive(repetitivo). Suele traducirse como –ivo o –iva.

-able: que tiene la habilidad o condición de. Un buenísimo ejemplo es countable (contable, que se puede contar), drinkable (potable, se puede beber). Cuidado con la excepción edible (comestible), que no se dice eatable, error en el que yo caí nada más llegar a Inglaterra.

-al: conexión o relación con. Ejemplos serían central (central), international (internacional), technological (tecnológico), psychological(psicológico).

-ent: que es o hace algo. Different (diferente), excellent (excelente).

-ous: que posee la cualidad o condición, naturaleza de. Este es importante porque se pronuncia siempre como un schwa, que ya expliqué en el curso de fonética. Ejemplos serían famous (famoso), dangerous (peligroso), poisonous (venenoso). Como ves, suele traducirse como –oso u –osa.

-less: sin algo, privado de. End significa final. Endless, interminable. Careless, without care, sin cuidado, descuidado. Fearless, sin miedo.

-ful: con cualidad o condición de, lleno de. Por ejemplo, beautiful (bello o hermoso), wonderful (maravilloso), colourful (colorido).

Sufijos para formar verbos

En este grupo hay muy pocos, y los dos primeros suelen formar el 70% de los verbos.

-ize/-ise: importante la pequeña diferencia entre zeta o ese. Si se escribe con zeta es inglés americano, mientras que la ese es británica. Critic significa crítico, de modo que criticise es criticar. Symbol, símbolo, da lugar a symbolise (simbolizar).

-ate: abbreviate (abreviar), accelerate (acelerar), activate (activar), concentrate (concentrarse), etc.

-en: fasten (abrochar), como en la frase Please fasten your seat belt(abróchense el cinturón), shorten (acortar), soften (suavizar), sharpen(afilar).

-fy: este se pronuncia /fai/, y para acordarte puedes pensar en el famoso Spotify. Simplify (simplificar), classify (clasificar), verify (verificar).

Sufijos para formar adverbios

Por supuesto, el más conocido es –ly. Algunos ejemplos serían quickly(rápidamente), slowly (lentamente), sadly (tristemente). Este sufijo forma el 90% de los adverbios en inglés, no tienes que memorizar más terminaciones. No obstante, hay un par de detalles importantes que debes saber:

–  Cuando el sustantivo a partir del cual se forma el adverbio termina en –al o en –ul, la letra ele se duplica en el adverbio: critical, critically(críticamente). Beautiful, beautifully (estupendamente, maravillosamente, de manera hermosa).

–  Hay unos pocos adverbios irregulares, que funcionan exactamente igual que el adjetivo que los define. Por ejemplo, hard significa duro como adjetivo, pero también de manera dura, con esfuerzo: she works hard. Ten cuidado, hardly no existe. Lo mismo ocurre con fast, que ya implica rápidamente: he drives fast. Otro más es late (tarde): she arrived late. Y por último, cuidado con well (bien), no lo confundas con good(bueno).

¿Cómo memorizo todo esto?

Es duro decirlo pero dado que no existen reglas, más allá de los patrones que has visto, la única forma de aprender todas estas palabras es memorizarlas y poco a poco almacenarlas en tu cabeza. Pero cómo intentes aprenderlas puede marcar la diferencia, y ahí es donde vamos a ayudarte. Sigue esta fórmula con una de las palabras:

1)  Apunta la palabra y busca su significado y pronunciación. Puedes comprobar cómo se pronuncia en diccionarios online.

2)  Añade la palabra a tu mazo de Anki. La acabo de descubrir y posiblemente sea la mejor aplicación que existe para memorizar vocabulario.

3)  Busca la palabra en Google y encontrarás ejemplos de gente real usando la palabra, escritos en contexto, blogs, algún vídeo, etc. De esta manera la asociación en tu cerebro será más rica y fuerte.

4)  Al día siguiente, después de dos días, en la próxima clase, cuando sea, repasa la palabra en Anki.

5)  Repite el proceso con la siguiente palabra (puedes empezar con los ejemplos que he dado en este post).

Espero haberte ayudado a aclarar la formación de palabras en inglés. Si sigues este método y recuerdas los patrones que he escrito, estoy seguro de que no tendrás problemas en el examen. De todas formas, la receta que te he dado más arriba sirve para aprender inglés y cualquier cosa, desde gramática a vocabulario, pronunciación, idioms, etc. Si quieres aprender inglés ya sabes que Lorca es posible en Aulagobal donde nos gusta el inglés.

See you around!

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.