Avge Giat Gat Lc u1 Contenidos 1213 v02

Welcome aboard!

Welcome to this first unit of English. Here, you will review basic contents. We are sureyou will be soon very familiar with presente and past tenses, as well as to conveypersonal information. Welcome aboard!

Imagen en Flickr de con licencia CC

1. How English works

In this section you will work on basic grammar points you need to be clear about. Aftereach language presentation, you will be offered some practise.

Imagen en Flickr de Andrew B47 con licencia CC

1.1. Present Simple

Present Simple

The Present Simple tense is used to express:

a. Permanent states and facts. Eg.: Water boils at 100 º C

b. Habits and scheduled routines. Eg.: I go out for a walk everymorning. / The train leaves at 05:30 p.m.

Look at the following table to see how to make the Present Simple:

Function Present simple Tense

Present

Simple

Permanentstates

Habitsandroutines

3 rd . Person singular {-s /-es }

Verbs ending in:

"- ch ": e.g.: He/Shewat ch es T.V. all day

"- sh ": e.g.: He/Shealways wa sh es his/herhands before eating.

"- o ": e.g.: He/Sheg o es to the city; he/shed o es the exercises.

"- s ": e.g.: He/Shemis s es you a lot when youare away.

"- x ": e.g.: He/Shemi x es a lot of styles ofmusic in his latest record.

"- z ": e.g.: The beebuz z es when it's flying.

If the verb ends in "- y "preceded by a consonant ,replace the 'y' with 'i' and add"-es" e.g.: He/She stud i es atUniversity.

Negative Form:

Importante

+ Verb

I don't like living in abig city.

She/He doesn't likeliving in a small town.

Interrogative Form(Interrogative NegativeForm):

DO / DOES + Subject + (NOT) +Verb ?

Do you liketravelling ?

Don't you like popmusic ?

Does he/she not go tothe cinema very often ?

Doesn't he/she wantto come with us ?

Commonmistakes:

He/She don't want to tell us the truth.

Correct form: doesn't.

Does he like s travelling?

Correct form: Does he like_ travelling?

Welcome aboard!

1.2. Present Continuous

Present continuous or Progressive

The Present Continuous (also called Progressive ) can be used to express:

An action in progress while it is happening:

E.g.: I am listen ing to my favourite music now.

Plans in the near future:

E.g.: I am visit ing my grandparents next week.

You can see its structure and main features on the table below:

Function

Continuous or Progressivetense

Present

To talk about:

Anaction atthe rightmoment itishappening.

Plans inthe nearfuture.

Subject + AM/IS/ARE +Verb- ING

I am listen ing to myfavourite music now.

I am visit ing mygrandparents next week.

Negative Form:

Subject + AM/IS/ARE(NOT) + Verb- ING

I am not go ing tothe party tomorrow.

She/He isn'tsleep ing .

Interrogative Form:

AM/IS/ARE + Subject +(NOT) + Verb- ING ?

Are you com ing tothe concert ?

Is he/she wait ing foryou ?

Aren't you buy ing aticket for the concert ?

Importante

To add the final "-ING" form, if the verb ends in:

" -e " it disappears and then +"-ing":

Eg. live liv e ing = liv ing

" -ee " = exception, it remains thesame:

see s ee ing

Final sequence "CVC" [Consonant (C) + stressedVowel (V) +Consonant (C)] duplicate the finalconsonant and then "-ing" is added:

E.g.: permit permit t ing / run run n ing /

"- ie " it disappears and then +"-y":

Eg. die di e ing = dying

" -y " we just add "-ing" because final'y' is never replaced, no matter if it is eitherpreceded by a vowel or a consonant).

E.g.: He/She is stu d ying at University /He/She is pl a ying in the garden.

Remember there are some verbs that normally DONOT take -ING:

Abstract Verbs: to be, to want, to cost, toseem, to need, ...

Possession Verbs: to possess, to own, tobelong, ...

Emotion Verbs: to like, to love, to hate, tofear, to envy, to mind,

...

Commonmistakes:

He/She aren’t runn ing .

Correct form : She isn’t runn ing .

I am stud ing Maths.

Correct form : I am stud ying …

1.3. Past Simple

Past Simple

The Past Simple tense is used to talk about a finished action or a situationhappened in the past.

E.g.: " Julius Caesar: he came, he saw, he conquered ."

Function Past simple tense

Past

Simple

To talk about:

afinishedaction orasituationhappenedin thepast.

I

You

He/She/It

We

You

They

Regular verbs: verb+ "-ed"

If the verb ends in"- y " preceded byconsonant + replacethe 'y' with 'i' and add"-ed".

E.g.: He/Shestud ied at University.

Irregular verbs:come CAME come

(we use the secondcolumn of the Irr. Vbs.list)

Negative Form:

Subject + DID ( NOT ) + MainVerb

I didn't finish up mymeal, I was full.

She/He didn't comeyesterday as expected.

Interrogative Form:

DID + Subject + ( NOT ) + MainVerb ?

Did you like theconcert ?

Did he/she not want to

Importante

Didn't you buy a ticketfor the concert ?

Commonmistakes:

He/She didn't want ed to visit the ModernArt museum.

Correct form: She didn´t want__.

1.3.1. Put it into practice

1. Where is Danny? He (PLAY) tennis.

2. My brother (WATCH) TV 5 hours a day every day.

3. (YOU/ GO) to the library yesterday?

4. I (READ) a book and Liz (DO) her homework.

5. Look! That woman (TAKE) your jacket.

6. The man 't (NOT/ WORK) here last year.

7. Peter (PETER/STUDY) French this year?

8. Where you (YOU/ LIVE)? I live and teach in Antequera.

9. Jim and Luca (TAKE) their laptops to work yesterday.

10. you (YOU/USUALLY/GO) to the cinema on

Mondays?

11. Right now, my brother (CUT) the grass in the

backyard.

12. Jason (UNDERSTAND) the situation.

Time to review verb tenses !!! . Fill in the gaps with the correct formof the verbs in brackets. Use the following tenses: presente simple,present continuous, past simple.

Actividad de rellenar huecos

14. I (MEET) the headmaster tomorrow afternoon.

15. Sarah and Nicole never (GO) to nightclubs on their own.

16. Nick ' (NOT/ WANT) to go shopping today.

17. At the moment, Sue (ATTEND) a very important

seminar on nanotechnology.

18. Thomas (THOMAS/ BUY) a bottle of milk twice a

week?Yes, he does.

19. The executive board (STUDY) my petition carefully in last

month's meeting.

Enviar

1. YOU: Good morning, Lea,

LEA: I come from Finland.

2. YOU:

LEA: Yes, I applied for a job as a visiting

teacher.

3. YOU: ? LEA: Oh yes,

Interviewing Lea Paasi. You are in charge of your school e-paper.Write questions for Lea's answers so that you can upload the wholetranscript of the interview, then check your answers. (TIP: How welldo you remember question words?)


4. YOU: LEA: I

am learning Spanish because I'd like to interact with Andalusian students asmuch as possible.

5. YOU: That's very interesting,

/ LEA:

Yes, I've got one son and one daughter.

6. YOU: I see...

LEA: Of course I'm

travelling around while I am in Andalusia. My school is located in Antequera.That's quite handy to move around: Córdoba, Granada, the coast...

7. YOU: Now let's talk about educational differences between Finland and

Spain:

LEA: Lessons start at 8 o'clock in the morning.

8. YOU:

LEA: There are 12 students in a standard

class. We can have up to 20 students, but that is not very common.

9. YOU: That makes all the difference! do

LEA: Back home, I teach maths and science.

10. YOU:

LEA: Yes, I spoke some Spanish before coming to

Andalusia. Not enough to understand the students though...

Enviar

1.4. Adverbs of frecuency

Adverbs of frequency (and their position in the sentence)

The position of these adverbs is usually in between the subject and the mainverb (middle position) Eg.: The baby always cries when she is hungry) butif there is an auxiliary verb [be (am, is, are, was, were), have (have, has,had), can, could, will, would, ...] then the adverb will come after thatauxiliary verb (e.g.: The baby is always crying).

Remember you can also find the adverbs "often, usually, sometimes andoccasionally" at the beginning of a sentence (e.g.: Sometimes I go swimmingto the seaside ) or at the end of it (e.g. : I go swimming to the seasidesometimes ).

Frequencyscale

Adverbs of frequency

Adverbs

ofFrequency(Position)

Always

Usually /Normally

Sometimes

Occasionally

Often

Seldom /Rarely

Ever

Hardly ever

Never

Middle Position

Subject + (Aux. verb) +ADVERB + Main Verb

The baby always crieswhen he/she is hungry.

The baby isalways crying .

We usually go to Córdoba -Spain on holidays

I normally drink three cupsof coffee a day

They sometimes come withus on our holidays

She often likes going outfor dinner

I seldom / rarely smoke

Have you ever been toSpain?

I hardly ever sing songsexcept when having a bath

I never drink before driving

Also: Initial and Final Position

Sometimes English is

Importante

Today, children eat fishoccasionally .

Nowadays, people readbooks very seldom .

Commonmistakes

*The baby always is crying.

Correct form: The baby is always crying.


1. a veil/ often/ in their wedding ceremony/ catholic brides/ wear

2. stays out/ after 1 am/ Paul/ never

3. usually/ chocolate cake/ John/ orders/ for dessert

4. is/ with us/ Francis/ bossy/ always

5. Does/ she/ at the front/ usually/ in a lecture theatre/ sit ?

6. goes/ Carmen/ once a week/ dancing

7. you/ watch/ don’t/ in English/ films/ ever/?

Read the following senteces and write them into the correct order.Focus on the position of the adverbs of frequency.


9. after work/ swimming/ I/ go/ sometimes

10. idle/ Barrie/ rarely/ is/ when he is at home

11. Spanish/ never/ to students/ language assistants/ speak

12. English/ I/ twice a week/ have/ private tuitions

13. rarely/ my brother/ is / on time

14. do/ on holidays/ you/ often/ how/ go ?

15. My children/every day/ to the park/ go

Enviar

1.5. Adverbs of degree

Adverbs of degree. Modificación de adjetivos con adverbiosde grado y cantidad

Adverbs of degree. Modificación de adjetivos con adverbios de grado ycantidad: very, extremely, too / (not) very, quite + adjetivo / Too+ adjetivo/ enough

ENOUGH + NOU: Enough is placed BEFORE a noun when it means "asmuch as is necessary".

Eg. : Poor countries don't have enough food.

Adjective / Adverb + ENOUGH: Enough as an adverb meaning "to thenecessary degree" is placed AFTERadjectives and adverbs.

Eg.: Is your coffee hot enough ? (adjective) / Though small this carruns fast enough (adverb)

TOO + Adjective/Adverb: Too is placed before an adjective or an adverbmeaning "more than is necessary", sometimes with a negative meaning.

Eg.: He speaks too fast and she speaks too slowly.

Now look at the following table

Degree Adverbs of degree

Adverbs

ofDegree

Almost / nearly

just

hardly

enough

pretty / fairly

rather/ quite/

(not) very

extremely

completely /utterly

too

Wait! I have almost / nearlyfinished.

Sorry! She is just leaving at thismoment.

She hardly noticed somebodywas listening.

The T-shirt isn't big enough forme.

There is enough water foreverybody.

I liked the movie, I think it waspretty good.

Your English is fairly good !

To me the movie was ratherdisappointing

This is quite interesting!

Importante

do after finishing his studies.

The coffee is not very hot butit's too hot for me.

The weather is extremely cold!

I am completely exhaustedfrom the trip.

The computer broke down, now it'scompletely / utterly useless.

Adjective/Adverb

+ ENOUGH

You didn't work hardenough to pass the exam.

She's not old enough toget married.

Commonmistake:

The coffee isenough hot.

Correct form: Thecoffee is hot enough

(adjective/adverb +enough)

TOO

+

adjective /adverb

The shirt was too small for him.

The water is too cold to have abath.

I am too tired to go out tonight.

Remember

There are some words that can be both adjectives(before a noun) and adverbs (noun = Ø), like:

fast a fast car (adjective) / He drives fast(adverb)

hard It's a hard task (adjective) / I amworking hard to pass my exams (adverb)

1.6. Types of nouns: plural forms, reflexive

and collective

Irregular and Regular Plural of nouns

Do you remember the general rule to make the 3rd. Person singular of thePresent Simple, by adding a final “-s” or “-es” according to the final letter ofthe word? Well, the same rule is also useful for the general plural of nouns.BUT there are some other nouns that do not follow the general rules, that iswhy we call them Irr egular Plural of nouns. You can find both, regular andirregular ones, on the tables shown below:

Regular Plural of nouns {-s / -es }

Nouns ending in:

“ –ch ”: e.g.: watch-watch es

“ –sh ”: e.g.: dish-dishes

“ –o ”: e.g.: volcano-volcano es

“ –s ”: e.g.: dress-dress es

“ –x ”: e.g.: fox-fox es

“ –z ”: e.g.: buzz-buzz es

If it ends in “ –y ” preceded by a consonant , replace the ‘y’ with an ‘i’and then we add “-es” e.g.: country-countr ies / university –universit ies

If the noun ends in “ -f ” or “ -fe ”, then those final endings change into“v” and then we add “-es” e.g.: knife (cuchillo) kniv es / wife (esposa)

wiv es / wolf (lobo) wolv es

Irregular Plural of nouns Singular Plural

Hombre / hombres man men

Mujer/ mujeres woman women

Persona / personas person people

Niño/niños child children

Pie/ pies foot feet

Diente/ dientes tooth teeth

Importante

Piojo/ piojos louse lice

Dado/ dados dice dice (=)

Ganso/ gansos goose geese

Buey/ bueyes ox oxen

Pez/ peces fish fish (=)

Oveja / ovejas sheep sheep (=)

Venado/venados deer deer (=)

Alce / alces moose moose (=)

(...) (...) (...)

Uncountable nouns

Un countable nouns (also called mass nouns) are susceptible to bemeasured BUT cannot be counted, therefore:

1. They do NOT take the final “-s / -es” for regular plural of nouns.

E.g.

I don’t know what to do, will you give some advice S ?

I love fish, please order two grilled fish ES for me.

Please, could we have two wine S ?, sorry, I meant two glassesof wine.

2. To form the plural of uncountable nouns you will need to useanother expression before them, like “one/two/three … piece/s of…” or“one/two/three… item/s of…”

E.g.

I like modern furniture very much, that’s why I ordered threepieces of modern Italian furniture for my new living-room.

Today’s newspaper has several pieces of news about the globalcrisis, you’ll find them interesting to read.

Frequently used

Uncountable nouns

advice meat

air milk

anger money

blood music

equipment politics

fish pollution

food rice

furniture salt

garbage sand

graffiti soap

grass software

homework sugar

information tea

knowledge traffic

love travel

luggage water

Phrasal nouns

It is very frequent to find a verb + preposition/adverb connected to form anoun (“phrasal noun”), usually by means of a hyphen “-“

E.g.: To make up (= to apply cosmetics) make-up (noun = cosmetics)

Here you can see a list of some other examples of phrasal nouns:

Phrasal Nouns (examples)

1. Breakdown (avería, crisis)

2. Check-up (revision, control)

3.Countdown

(cuenta atrás)

4. Downpour (chaparrón)

5. Drive-in (restaurante con líneade servicio a coches)

6. Feedback (respuesta, reacción)

8. Know-how (saber hacer)

9. Leftover (sobras)

10. Lift-off (despegue en vertical

11. Makeup (maquillaje)

12. Off-piste (en esquí, fuera depista)

13. Outrage (atrocidad, escándalo)

14. Payoff (soborno)

15. Rip-off (timo)

16. Sellout (éxito de taquilla)

17. Sit-in (sentada protesta)

18. Take-off (despegue)

19. Tearaway (joven problematico)

20. Tip-off (chivatazo)

Reflexive nouns

We use the “Reflexive” pronouns when the object of a sentence is the sameas the subject, by adding the suffix “-self (singular) / -selves (plural)”.

E.g.

I shave myself every morning.

If you buy the items you need you can do it yourself.

My son spends ages looking at himself in the mirror before goingout.

She hurt herself with a tool at work.

Look! There is a bird washing it self in the river.

We went to a self-service cafeteria to buy ourselves some food.

There is plenty of food, you guys, just help yourselves.

Cats wash themselves without using any water.

PERSONALPronouns

POSSESSIVESREFLEXIVE

PronounsSubject Object Adjectives Pronouns

I Me My Mine My self

He Him His His Him self

She Her Her Hers Her self

It It Its Its It self

We Us Our Ours Our selves

You You Your Yours Your selves

They Them Their Theirs Them selves

Reciprocal pronouns: each other / one another

We use “each other" or "one another" as alternative ways of showing that anaction is two-way (A ↔ B).

E.g.

Both Prime Ministers greeted each other at the meeting (= BothPMs greeted one another )

They gave one another the good news (= They gave eachother …)

Collective nouns

A collective noun is a noun that denotes a collection of persons or thingsregarded as a unit.

In British usage, collective nouns are often treated as plurals:

The government have announced a new policy to preventunemployment rate from rising

The Olympic team are playing the finals next week.

In American usage, a collective noun usually takes a singular verbwhen it refers to the collection considered as a whole (E.g.: The

family was united on this matter) and it takes a plural verb when itrefers to the members of the group considered as individuals (E.g.: Myfamily are always fighting among themselves).


1. We were attacked by two (thief) .

2. There are two (lady) waiting for you at the till, Jenny.

3. There isn’t much (bread) in the fridge.

4. New (bus) are gas-fuelled.

5. Why don’t you ask for some more (analysis) ?

6. Jonas bought some (tomato) .

7. EU national (economy) are suffering with the crisis.

8. Why do you own two (house) ?

9. This house is full of (mouse) !!!

Enviar

Complete the following sentences with the appropriate form of thenoun in brackets. (TIP: Irregular plurals)

Are these words countable or uncountable nouns? Choose the rightanswer.

a) Advice

b) Anger


e) Beer

f) Bottle

g) Butter

h) Class

i) Fork

j) Furniture

k) Glass

l) Idea

m) Information

n) Knowledge

o) Lion

p) Love

q) Love

r) Luggage

s) Meat

t) Milk

u) Money

v) Notebook

w) Politics

x) Rice

y) Salt

z) Sea

aa) Staff (workmates)

ab) Tea

ac) Tomato

ad) Water

1. You paid forty pounds for that jumper! What a

2. Fast-food restaurants usually have a - lane

3. After you turn 50, it is time for medical

4. When you travel by plane, remember to switch off your laptop during

and landing.

Phrasal nouns. Fill in the boxes with a suitable phrasal noun. Writethem in plural when necessary.


6. The tickets for the concert were sold in just 2 days: it was an absolute

!

7. A - against the Bologna Plan is scheduled for next

Wednesday. Student protests are likely to go on this year.

8. Scotland Yard got a concerning a major bombing in Victoria

Station.

Enviar

1.7. The possessive form of nouns

The possessive form of noums : 's / of + noun / noun + noun/ double possessive

A. You can see the connections between Personal Pronouns andPossessives in this table:

Personal Pronouns POSSESSIVES

Subject Object Adjectives Pronouns Examples

I Me My Mine “Whosebook is this?It’s mine .

He is a friendof mine .

You You Your Yours “Sincerelyyours ” (atthe end of aletter) /

He Him His His A friend ofhis has alot of cars,even aJaguar!

She Her Her Hers She has(got) a redcar so thiscar can behers.

It It Its Its A bigdinosaurescaped andthis footprintmust beits .

We Us Our Ours At arestaurant:“Which table

Importante

Susan is afriend ofours .

You You Your Yours Now, youguys listen! Idon’t likethose friendsof yours !”

They Them Their Theirs “Who is he?I think he’s arelation oftheirs .”

Remember that:

Adjectives +noun Pronouns Noun = Ø

My house is mine + Ø

Adjective + noun Pronoun + Ø

B. The possessive case with ‘s. (The Saxon Genitive) Normallywhen the owner is a person (or sometimes an animal), we will add a

final ending “’s ” (apostrophe –s) to the name of the owner toindicate that “ownership” relationship and then we will write thepossessed object. If the noun already ends in a final “ -s” , then onlythe final apostrophe “ ’ ” is needed.

E.g.:

1. It is Peter’s car = This car is Peter’s ( i.e.: This car belongsto Peter)

2. That’s my friend s’ house = That house is my friend s’

( i.e.: That house belongs to my friends)

Sometimes, we can also express possession when the owner is notnecessarily a person:

E.g.:

1. They are America's gold medallists

2. The cat’s owner

C. The “of + noun” and the “noun+noun” expressions

Sometimes we can use both the Saxon Genitive (the boy’s name) orthe “of + noun” expression (the name of the boy), but this is not alwayspossible. We normally use the Saxon Genitive when the owners arepeople or animals and we use the “ of + noun ” expression withthings :

E.g.:

1. The final score of the football match was 1-1

2. The windows of the house

3. The day of the Olympic race.

Some other times you can find two nouns ( noun + noun ) indicating

A book case / a garden chair / an oil well

D. The double possessive (or “double genitive”): “ noun + of +

noun’s”

Some other times you can find expressions containing a doublepossessive structure, meaning “one among”:

1. “I am a friend of Maria ’s ” à if I introduce myself this way Imean that I am ONE AMONG Maria’s friends.

2. “I bought a portrait of Antonio Lopez ’s ” à it indicates that Ibought ONE AMONG the existing portraits OWNED by AntonioLopez (not a painting in which Antonio Lopez is portrayed)

3. “I don’t like that friend of yours !” à to mean I do not likeparticularly that one among your friends.

There are also some expressions and places where the Saxon Genitivepossessive form is used :

a fortnight's holiday Las vacaciones de dos semanas

a month's pay La paga de un mes

today's newspaper El períodico de hoy

in a year's time En un año

for God's sake! ¡Por amor de Dios!

to the grocer'sA la tienda

(‘s = del tendero)

to the newsagent'sal quiosco

(‘s = del quiosquero)

to the dentist'sal dentista

(‘s = la casa o lugar del dentista)

to the doctor'sal doctor

(‘s = la casa o lugar del doctor)

to the chemist'sA la farmacia

(‘s = la casa o lugar del químico)

to the vet'sal veterinario

(‘s = casa o lugar del veterinario)

to Saint James's A la Iglesia de Saint James's


1. Have you met ? (David – his parents)

2. The is recruiting Spanish

teachers (Oxford – its university)

3. The cat walked on the . (the boys – their

schoolwork)

4. This is your . (car – its key)

5. What is ?

(Darwin – his most amazing discovery)

6. Jason was last March. (month – its

worker)

7. A new has been launched. (school – its

newspaper) Comprueba tu respuesta

8. Diana and is a doctor. (Diana and Ian – their

mother)

9. Welcome to our cosy . (staff – their room)

10. I think you need a warm . You are soaked! (tea –

its cup)

11. I met Joanna at the (theatre – its

entrance)

12. She has a tremendous /

. (persuasion – its power)

13. The school paid for the . (plane – its tickets)

Expressing possession. Rewrite the following sentences usingsuitable possession structures: ‘s/ s’, of, noun + noun.


15. Why didn’t they try with ? (James – his

mobile)

Enviar

2. How to say and how to spell it

"How to say and how to spell it" deals with the communicative aspect of language. In thissection, you will learn how to put the language into active practise and how to use it inreal communicative situations.

Imagen en Flickr de Richard Stowey con licencia CC

2.1. Meeting new people

Imagen en Flickr

de Colinlogan con

licencia CC

Read about Maria. Then write the questions for the answers given.

Hi! My name’s Maria. I’m 28 years old. I’ve recentlypassed my competitive exams for a teaching post inSpain. Last year I was an English teacher at a primaryschool. I’m Spanish, but I was born in Canada, soEnglish is also my mother tongue. I’m single, but I livewith my partner in a rented flat on the coast of Malaga.I love teaching, but I’m also very keen on sports andtravelling. Last summer I went to Cracovia for aComenius conference, as I’m very concerned withimproving my teaching skills. I met very interestingpeople there. The main objective of the conference wasto find partners in order to develop teamwork and shareour outcomes on the issues proposed.

1. ?

28

2. ?

She worked as an Englich teacher at a primary school.

3. ?

She's Spanish.

4. ?

In Canada.

Actividad de lectura


6. ?

She lives in a flat with her partner.

7. ?

To Cracovia.

Enviar


What do you think the title of the conference is?

a) Using new technology in Language Learning

b) Skills for teacher training

c) Language and Methodology

On the first day, participants met in a lounge, exchanged Informationand tried to find suitable partners for their projects. Please listen tothe dialogue and choose the right phrase to fill in the gaps.


Maria: Hello. I'm Maria. I'm from Spain.

(1)

Tim: ? (2) My name's Timothy, but

(3) Tim. I work as a computer science teacher at a

Further Education School in Leeds. Where do you work Maria?

Maria: I'm a primary English teacher in Málaga, Spain.

Tim: Malaga! That's in the south, isn't it? Right, '

(4); she's Polish, and she's also a primary

English teacher. So you must have a lot in common.

Dorota:

Maria: Nice to meet you too! Could I get your email, Dorota. I'd like to sendyou our project.

Enviar

Maria: Rebecca!

Rebecca: ! (1) What are you doing here? What a

coincidence!

Maria: I'm here for the conference. You look gorgeous.

(2). How's life?

Rebecca: Pretty well. In fact, I've just had my first baby.

Maria: No! I can't believe it! Did you get married?

Read the paragraph below and fill in the missing words.


Maria: Listen, Rebecca. (3)

Tim and Dorota. Tim is English and Dorota's Polish. I met Rebecca in France,when I was working there as a language assistant.

Tim: Nice to meet you, Rebecca.

Dorota: Please to meet you.

Rebecca: (4)

Maria: I hope you don't have much trouble with your baby. They say that firstborn children are the most difficult ones.

Enviar

2.2. Planning a day out

Sheila: Hello.

Lizzy: Is Sheila there?

Sheila: This is Sheila.

Lizzy: Hi Sheila. It's Lizzy.

Sheila: Hi Lizzy. (1) ?

Lizzy: Have you got any plans for this weekend?

Sheila: . (2) ?

Lizzy: I had a wonderful time at the Irish pub last weekend. (3) ?

launch

Sheila: Actually, we've already planned a get-together for this weekend. (4) ?

Lizzy: Oh, I'd hate to impose.

What did you do last weekend? Sheila and Lizzy are languageassistants in Antequera, Malaga. Listen to their conversation.


Lizzy: (5) ?

Sheila: It's about 20 minutes from Antequera. It's called Oscar's on theSquare. They provide high quality English food at very reasonable prices.

Lizzy: (6) ?

Sheila: Yes. It's Nuestra Señora de las Virtudes, number 2. As you drive infrom Antequera, cross the motorway, then go straight on, following theindications for the city centre. You'll reach a roundabout that leads down tothe lake if you continue straight ahead. Don't go that way, take a rightinstead. The square is at the end of the street. There's a lot of parking spaceso you don't have to worry about your car.

Lizzy: I'm not too sure about that. It sounds rather complicated.

(7) ? I'm really bad at

directions. I'm afraid I'll get lost and be very late

Sheila: Don't worry.

(8) ? That's our meeting

point.

Lizzy: That'll be fine. Thanks a lot, see you Sunday. Oh,

(9) ?

Sheila: We've booked a table at 1. (10) ? That'll

give us enough time...

Enviar

3. Words and phrases you need

This sections exploits the lexical aspect of language, providing you with a wide range ofwords and expressions you will surely need to communicate.

Imagen en Flickr de Darwin Bell con licencia CC

3.1. Religious weddings

a) According to tradition, a is for life, but it doesn't

seem to be like that in recent times.

b) The liberal attitude of certain governments allows homosexuals to

celebrate .

c) The of a marriage always implies a loss of financial

stability for the individuals

d) According to some religions baptism is a .

e) Nowadays, it's quite common for to start a new

relationship in the following two years after the divorce took place.

f) is the most extended religion in Israel

g) When we got married, we were so broke that my wife didn't even wear

a .

h) My dad is a widower, but he met Alice, who is also a , and

they've been going out since then.

i) One of the biggest differences between

priests is that, in the first case, they can get married and

have a family.

j) We wanted to keep our budget low, so not many people were invited to

the . Only our closest relatives and

friends.

k) In most North European countries, is complimentary

whenever you start a new drink with a group of friends.

l) When she threw the to the wedding guests it was me

who got it.

m) So as they say it's supposed to bring me and a

bridegroom!

n) Even among Catholics, there are different , like

Adventists or Jehovah's witnesses.

o) In some cultures, it's not necessary for the and the

Read the text about different religious wedding rites in Europe in"Cultures and countries". Read the words in the box, listen to themand try to guess their meaning. Then use it to complete thesentences.


q) As I don't believe in God, I've never any of my

children

r) Some are religious ceremonies celebrated according to

traditions.

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3.2. Personality

Imagen en Flickr de con licencia CC

It is a common belief among psychologists that your position in thefamily can affect your personality. Are you an only child, a first-born,a middle-born or the youngest in your family? Discover how it mayhave determined your behaviour.

Only children tend togather the undividedattention from theirparents and evengrandparents in such away that they are oftenover stimulated. Theyare usually described asspoiled and selfish. Onthe positive side, theytend to be well-organisedand highly conscientiousand dependable. Theyfeel at ease with facts,ideas and details, andextremely comfortablewith responsibility But

don't forget they can be difficult to deal with, as they are used to attractingmost of their parents' attention. In this sense, they are often unforgiving, verydemanding, hate to admit they're wrong and usually don't accept criticism well.In all, they are usually very sensitive and indeed, their feelings are easily hurt.

First-born children may be considered temporary only children.Consequently, they may share some personality traits with them. They arealso well-organised, punctual and competent and high achievers in relation totheir studies and professions, and, as a consequence, natural leaders. As amatter of fact, they are often criticized as being boastful, moody and lackingsensitivity.

Middle children usually have an unpredictable personality, as their rolechanges from last-born to middle-born while they are growing up. They tendto be very sociable and sympathetic, sometimes a bit too conformist, as theyare eager to please everyone around them, form younger to oldest brothersor sisters, as well as parents.

Youngest children usually keep a privileged position in the family. Theyare free from the high expectations that many parents have for their eldestchildren and are often grown up in a less strict environment. As aconsequence, although they tend to be more independent and self-centred,they are very talkative, extrovert and are known as great entertainers. But becareful not to disappoint or bore them because they have a natural tendencyto escape from these situations.


a) someone who follows the standard and doesn't argue

b) concerned chiefly or only with yourself

c) tidy

d) someone who likes social contact and enjoys interaction

with others

e) someone who is not easily satisfied by others, because

he/she expects a lot from them

f) talking about yourself in a very proud way

g) talking about yourself in a very proud way

h) someone who talks a lot

i) a successful person, usually, professionally speaking

j) a person who enjoys amusing others

k) a person who understands well people's problems

l) a child who is given everything he/she asks for

m) confident and free to do things without needing help

from other people

Read and listen to the words. Repeat them. Try to guess theirmeaning from the text, and, if necessary, use a dictionary. Then,match the definitions to the words.


o) bad-tempered or upset, often for no particular reason

p) caring only about yourself and your own needs

q) that can be relied on to do what you want or need

r) a lively and confident person who enjoys being with

other peopl e

Enviar

In job meetings, I always backs the boss, never say anything against him

(1)

My house is always in order and my appointments in my agenda (1)

I love going out and meeting new people, and making them have a good

time with my stories (4) , ,

,

I'm quite good at my job, that is the reason why I have such a high post in

the company (5) , ,

, ,

Don't you think I will ever forgive you. I expected something else from you

(2)

Don't tell me about that poor girl. Once you start, I won't be able to stop

crying (2)

I don't know what is happening to me: I feel happy one moment and sad the

Write the adjectives which correspond to each statement. Find inbrackets the number of adjectives which apply to each sentence.


Enviar

3.3. House exchange

Imagen en Flickr de Julie Gibbons con licencia CC

Preston and Mavis eventually did the house exchange they wereafter. The Home Exchange Company asked them to write about howthey felt about the experience for the website. Here is what theywrote:

"In general, theexperience was muchbetter than what weexpected! We had reada lot on theadvantages anddisadvantages of homeswapping, but I haveto say that advantagesoutweighed far toomuch thedisadvantages. Tobegin with, the houseexceeded ourexpectations and thepictures we had beensent in advance didn'tmake justice to thereal building. It wascosy and beautiful,

indeed. Of course, we had to put up with the things we didn't like from thehouse, like the lack of a TV set or a dish-washer. Apart from that, theenvironment was fantastic, very close to the coastline and in a nice quiet tinyvillage.

I have to say that these are not the ideal holidays if you want to get awayfrom it all and relax, as you still have to go on with the house chores,vacuuming, doing the washing, ironing, etc., and above all, washing thedishes!, something we got rid off years ago when we bought our firstdish-washer.

Besides, the next-door neighbours had the irritating habit of pushing us intoa friendship we weren't keen on establishing, constantly coming up to ourdoor with cakes, and dinner party invitations that we had to put offdiplomatically on several occasions.

Another inconvenience was that the car wasn't as good as ours and it reallywas in a mess. All full of children's toys and food left-overs.

But in all, the holidays were really inexpensive; we only had to make anextra budget for the flight expenses. And, best of all, in spite of our fears,


Thank a lot. It really was a memorable experience. We are already thinkingwhere to go next year with your house exchange programme!"

Exchange

Warm, comfortable and safe

Accept something which is annoying or unpleasant

Equipment

A machine used to wash the dishes

Small

Forget about your daily routine

Tasks that you do regularly at home

Use the vacuum cleaner to clean the carpet

Wash the clothes

Untidy

Read the text below and then find a word or expression in the textfor each of the synonyms below.


Cheap

Enviar

4. Women and society

Imagen en Flickr de Jimforest bajo licencia CC

Read and listen the following text.

It all started with Adam and Eve.Recorded history states that Eve (inother words, women) was createdafter and from a man (Genesis2:21-22). Throughout history thiscrucial story has condemned womento a life of strife and struggle. Maledominance or patriarchy has beenthe social pattern since timeimmemorial.

This social pattern has allowed forwomen to be under male authority,deprived women of basic rights (thevote, property, voice, mind, etc.)has even allowed for physical andpsychological torture, pain andabuse.

But women realized that they wereequal and started to fight back.That's right! It had to be, in fact stillis, a fight. Incredible as it mayseem, women received the right tovote around the 1800s. Women's

suffrage is the term used to address the economic and political reformmovement claiming women's right to vote. The modern movement started inFrance in the XVIII century. Some claim that the first country to give womenthe right to vote was New Zealand in 1893; others claim it was Sweden duringthe age of liberty between 1718 and 1771. However, the origin isn't as

important as the fact that women couldn't vote for centuries. The origin of themovement isn't as important as the fact that women's right to vote wasn'tincluded in international law until 1948 when the United Nations adopted theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights or the fact that women's suffrage was

explicitly stated as a right under the Convention on the Elimination of AllForms of Discrimination Against Women adopted by the UN as late as 1979!

More unbelievable yet, is the fact that in the XXI century there are places inthe world where women can still be told what to do, how to live their lives andwhat is even sadder, can be mutilated; all this in the name of dominance andsubjugation. In many ways, we are very much a "you will do as you are told"society. This is not the passionate manifesto of a feminist. Unfortunately, it isreality.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), FGM or Female GenitalMutilation "includes procedures that intentionally alter or injure female genital


The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) providesstartling statistics. It says that at least one out of every three womenaround the world has been beaten, coerced into sex or suffered other types ofabuse at least once in her lifetime and that the abuser is usually someoneknown to her. It continues to say that, "violence against women and girls is auniversal problem of epidemic proportions."

1. In what year did Spain give women the right to vote?

2. What are the names of the two Spanish women who supported

different views on women's vote in Spain?

Enviar

Visita este enlace y completa las siguientes preguntas.

Gender issues

Men and women are subjected to play roles right from the cradle.Look at the following table put an "x" next to how you were broughtup. Be honest, it's not about what you think now but about youreducation. Can you think of any more?

WOMEN

Do house work Fix car


Talk a lot Talk business

Emotionally dependent, unstable (moody) Emotionally stable, stro

Organize the house Go to work

Bring up the children Have the children at pla

Do the shopping Hate shopping

Care givers Care receivers

Play with dolls Play with guns

Pink Blue

Submissive Dominant

Assertive Aggressive

Get paid less for same job Get paid more for same

Gender issues

Men and women are subjected to play roles right from the cradle.Look at the following table put an "x" next to how you were broughtup. Be honest, it's not about what you think now but about youreducation. Can you think of any more?

Stereotype W or M?

Bad drivers

Don't cry

Spend money

Worry about physical aspect (beauty, weight, etc.)

Get drunk

Get into fights

Are wicked

Are noble

Gossip

Can be single

Can't live alone

Shouldn't have several relationships

Are expected to have several relationships

Must get married

Needn't get married

Have a biological clock

Passive

Active

Chronology of women's right to vote around the world:

http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/suffrage.htm

Women's vote in Spain

http://www.almendron.com/historia/contemporanea/sufragismo/sufragismo.htm

Female Genital Mutilation

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs241/en/

http://reproductiverights.org/en/press-room/time-to-abandon-female-genital-mutilation

UNIFEM

http://www.unifem.org/campaigns/vaw/

Women who changed the world

http://search.eb.com/women

Para saber más

5. Culture and countries

This is our cultural section. Here you can get to know English speaking countries betterthrought their traditions and customs.

Imagen en Flickr de l'etham con licencia CC

5.1. Church weddings

Imagen en Flickr de CarlosMendozaPhoto con licencia CC

Church weddings

In virtually allreligions, marriageis a life-long unionbetween two ormore people and isestablished withceremonies andrituals. The peopleare most commonlya man and awoman, thoughsome religions havepermittedpolygamousmarriages and somefaiths anddenominationsrecognize same-sexmarriages.

Different religionshave differentbeliefs as regards tothe breakup ofmarriage (ordivorce). Forexample, theRoman CatholicChurch believesthat marriage is asacrament and avalid marriagebetween twobaptized personscannot be broken

up by any other means than death. This means that civil divorcees cannotremarry in a Catholic church marriage as long as their spouse is alive.

In marriage, Christians see a picture of the relationship between Jesus and theChurch. In Judaism, marriage is so important that remaining unmarried isdeemed unnatural. Islam also marriagehighly recommends marriage; amongother things, it helps in the pursuit of spiritual perfection. The Western customof a bride wearing a white wedding dress, symbolizes purity. Within the "whitewedding" tradition, a white dress and veil would not have been consideredappropriate in the second or third wedding of a widow or divorcee.


Protestant and Catholic rites. A wedding is often followed or accompanied by awedding reception, known as the 'Wedding Breakfast', at which an elaboratewedding cake is served. Western traditions include toasting the couple, thenewlyweds having the first dance, and cutting the cake. A bride may throw herbouquet to the assembled group of unmarried women with folklore suggestingthe person who catches it will be the next to wed.

A modern tradition is for brides to wear or carry "something old, somethingnew, something borrowed, something blue"¹ during the service. It isconsidered good luck to do so. Often the bride attempts to have one item thatmeets all of these qualifications, such as a borrowed blue handkerchief which is"new to her" but loaned by her grandmother (thus, making it old). Anotheraddition to this custom is to wear a penny in your shoe, this will bring youprosperity.

(Text adapted from Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding#European_customs

See license at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)

Look at the following websites and learn more about weddingtraditions.

http://www.worldweddingtraditions.com/

http://www.topics-mag.com/internatl/weddings/wedding-customs.htm

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-some-unusual-wedding-traditions-around-the-world.htm

Listen to the most common processional music at:

http://www.weddingmusic101.com/Wedding_Music_Overview.html

http://myweddingmusic.com/

Another common tradition in Anglo-NorthAmercian weddings issaying vows to each other. Vows are very important. If you decide tosay vows to each other, you must make a real effort to sound sincere.Have a look at the following websites, which vow would you chooseor would you rather write your own?

http://www.myweddingvows.com/

http://www.weddingvowsden.com/

http://elegantvows.com/

Para saber más

5.2. Apache wedding vows

Imagen de Flickr de con licencia CC

I got married last year. My husband and I chose Apache weddingvows. Have a read:

Weddings vows

Groom:

Now you will feel norain, for each of us willbe shelter for theother. Now you willfeel no cold, for eachof us will be warmth tothe other. Now therewill be no loneliness,for each of us will becompanion to theother. Now we are twopersons, but there isonly one life before us.May beauty surroundus both in the journeyahead and through allthe years. Mayhappiness be ourcompanion and our

days together be good and long upon the earth.

READ TOGETHER:

And if each of us takes responsibility for the quality of our life together, it willbe marked by abundance and delight.

Bride:

We will treat each other with respect, and remind each other often of whatbrought us together. We will give the highest priority to the tenderness,gentleness and kindness that our love deserves. When frustration, difficultiesand fear assail our relationship, we will remember to focus on what is rightbetween us, not only the part which seems wrong. In this way, we can rideout the storms when clouds hide the face of the sun in our lives,remembering that even if we lose sight of it for a moment, the sun is stillthere.


And if each of us takes responsibility for the quality of our life together, it willbe marked by abundance and delight.

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