El Centro de Ingles - Amazon Shop

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Summer School 2010

We now have information on the Childrens Summer School for 2010 in the North east of England, near Newcastle Upon Tyne.
This academy is set in a fantastic country house in beautiful countryside. Excursions will include visiting places that were used for filming the Harry Potter movies, your children will feel they are experiencing life at Hogwarts with the games and activities.
If you are interested in more information, prices etc please contact me.
Best Wishes to everyone for 2010.
We hope you receive everything that you wish for yourselves, and more.
xxxxx

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Confusing Adjectives

Bored v Boring

Bored is an adjective that describes when someone feels tired and unhappy because something is not interesting or because they have nothing to do.

For example: She was very bored in the English class.

Boring is an adjective that means something is not interesting or exciting.

For example: The English class is very boring.

Complete these sentences with bored / boring

Example : The film was very boring so we were bored.

I don’t like football, it’s __________.

I think she is ____________ because she looks uninterested in the film.

She doesn’t like David, she says he is ____________.

I always sleep when I’m on the train because it’s____________.

A ___________ film always makes me _______________.

Excited v Exciting

Excited is an adjective that describes when someone feels happy and enthusiastic about something.

For example: She is very excited about the party.

Exciting is an adjective that means something is making you excited.

For example: The party will be exciting.

Complete these sentences with excited / exciting.

Example : In my opinion, football is an exciting sport, I get excited when I go to a match.

I think she is ___________ because she looks happy.

The children are ____________ for the school trip.

My brother is ____________ because he is going to visit his friends tomorrow.

Watersports are really ______________.

Mountain climbing is _________________, it makes me feel ______________.

Interested v Interesting

Interested is used as an adjective, it says how someone feels.

For example: "I am very interested in the lesson."

Interesting is used as an adjective, it describes the people or things that cause the feelings.

For example: "It was an interesting lesson ."

Complete these sentences with interested / interesting.

Example : He is interested in learning English, he finds it interesting.

Note : The verb after interested is in the gerund form

  1. I think History is very ________________.
  2. We’re _____________________ in going to French classes.
  3. I found the documentary quite ________________.
  4. She’s ___________________ in starting dance classes.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Vocabulary - Places (sitios)

As you can see, in English nouns (sustantivos) are neither masculine nor feminine.
el / la = the
un / una = a (if the noun starts with a consonant), an (if the noun starts with a vowel vocal)

ENGLISH

SPANISH

a cinema
un cine

a theatre
un teatro

an internet café
un cibercafé

a museum
un museo

a square
una plaza

an office
una oficina

a cash machine
un cajero automático

the tourist office
la oficina de turismo

a cathedral
una catedral

a church
una iglesia

a mosque
una mezquita

a pedestrian street
una calle peatonal

a bank
un banco

the swimming pool
la piscina

the library
la biblioteca

the town hall
el ayuntamiento

the market
el mercado

Friday, November 13, 2009

Family & Friends - Useful Phrases

ENGLISH
SPANISH

This is my twin sister.
Esta es mi hermana gemela.


She's getting married next summer.
Ella se casa el verano que viene.

I'm an only child.
Yo soy hijo único / Yo soy hija única.

I get on well with my brother.
Me llevo bien con mi hermano.

I don't get on at all with my cousin.
No me llevo nada bien con mi primo.

I've got three best friends.
Tengo tres mejores amigas.

We're always together / We're inseparable.
Somos inseparables.

I've had a arguement with my mother in law.
Me he peleado con mi suegra.

I'm in love with Lucy.
Estoy enamorado con Lucy.

David and I have split up.
David y yo nos hemos separado.




Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Phrasal Verbs - travel

Here are some typical phrasal verbs that you
may find in travel articles on places to visit.

Cool Off = To become less hot
"In the summer, you can cool off at one of the city's
many swimming pool".

Chill out = Relax
"You can chill out in one of the hotel's luxurious bars."

Wander along = To walk along a road / path with
no particular objective in mind.
"Wander along the canal path and watch the boats
slowly drifting up and down".

Head to = To go to
"Head to the main square for a meal in one of the best restaurants in town".

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Beginners Practice Dialogue

A: Hello. I'm Ana.
B: Hi Ana . My name's Sarah.
A: Nice to meet you Sarah. Where are you from?
B: I'm from Newcastle, in the North East of England. And you?
A: I live in a small town near Edinburgh, in Scotland.
B: Oh, I love Scotland, it's beautiful.
A: Yes I really like it. My brother lives near Newcastle.
B: Oh Really? Where abouts ?
A: Oh, I don't know, sorry. But I know he likes it,
he says the people are very friendly and it's a lively city.
B: Yes it's great !
A: Well, I'm sorry but I have to go. It was nice to meet you.
B: And you. Maybe we can meet for a coffee one day.
A: Yes, that would be great. How about Saturday?
B: Yeah ok, at 11 o'clock ?
A: Ok, at the new cafe on the High street, It's called The Coffee House. Do
you know it ?
B: Yes I do, ok, I'll see you there on Saturday. Bye.
A: Bye for now.

What are Collocations ?

Collocations are 2 or 3 words that go together in a sentence.

Here is a sample of some collocations with the verb "HAVE". I will soon update this article with the translations in Spanish, in the meantime why not try to translate them yourself ?

have a bath
have a drink
have a good time
have a haircut
have a holiday
have a problem
have a relationship
have a rest
have lunch
have sympathy

Here is a sample of some collocations with the verb "TAKE". I will soon update this article with the translations in Spanish, in the meantime why not try to translate them yourself ?

take a break
take a chance
take a look
take a rest
take a seat
take a taxi
take an exam
take notes
take someone's place
take someone's temperature

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Food and Drink Vocabulary (pronunciation)

Food and Drink

food (fud)
drink
meat (mit)
fish
seafood (sifud)
vegetables (vechtebls)
cold drink - non alcoholic
alcohol
condiments
breakfast (brekfast)
lunch (lanch)
supper (saper)
snack
bar snack
salad
soup (sup)
starter
main course (mein cors)
dessert

Meat

beef (bif)
pork
lamb (lam)
ham
chicken
steak (steik)
salami (salarmi)
sausage (sosach)
cured ham (kiuerd jam)

Fish and Seafood

sardine (sardin)
prawns (prorns)
squid
tuna (tiuna)
cod
trout (traut)
paella (seafood dish) (paiela)

Fruit (frut)

fruit (frut)
apple (apl)
orange (oranch)
banana (banarna)
grapes (greips)
pear (per)
peach (pich)
lemon
melon
pineapple (painapl)
strawberry (stroberi)
raspberry (raspberi)
apricot (eipricot)

Vegetables

garlic
onion
potato (poteito)
tomato (tomarto)
carrot (carat)
cauliflower (coliflauer)
peas (piis)
lettuce (letaos)
cucumber (kiukamber)
artichoke (artichouk)
avocado (afocardo)

Further Foods & Condiments

sugar (shuga)
salt (solt)
vinegar (finiga)
olive oil (olif oil)
pepper
bread (bred)
butter (baoter)
omelette (omlet)
spanish omelette
eggs (eks)

Non-Alcoholic Drinks

coffee (kofi)
black coffee
white coffee (wait)
fruit juice (frut yus)
orange juice
pineapple juice
milk
water (worter)
mineral water
sparkling water (sparklin)
still water

Alcohol

beer (bier)
white wine (wait wain)
red wine
cider (saider)
whisky
sherry
vodka
rum (raom)

Eating Out

restaurant (restorant)
cafe (kafi)
bar
reservation (reserveishon)
table (teibl)
menu (meniu)
customer (caostomer)
waiter (weiter)
bill (bil)
tip
toilets
bottle (botl)
plate (pleit)
cup (caop)
knife (naif)
fork
spoon (spun)
glass

Comida y Bebidas

la comida
la bebida
la carne
el pescado
los mariscos
las verduras
el refresco
el alcohol
los condimentos
el desayuno
el almuerzo
la cena
el bocado
la tapa
la ensalada
la sopa
el primer plato
el segundo plato
el postre

La Carne

la carne de ternera
la carne de cerdo
la carne de cordero
el jamón york
el pollo
el filete
el chorizo
la salchicha
jamón serrano

La Pesca y Los Mariscos

la sardina
las gambas
el calamar
el atún
el bacalao
la trucha
la paella

La Fruta

la fruta
la manzana
la naranja
el plátano
las uvas
la pera
el melocotón
el limón
el melón
la piña
la fresa
la frambuesa
el albaricoque

Las Verduras

el ajo
la cebolla
la patata
el tomate
la zanahoria
la coliflor
los guisantes
la lechuga
el pepino
la alcachofa
el aguacate

Más Comida y Condimentos

el azúcar
la sal
el vinagre
el aceite
la pimienta
el pan
la mantequilla
la tortilla
la tortilla de patatas
los huevos

Bebidas Sin Alcohol

el café
el café solo
el café con leche
el zumo de fruta
el zumo de naranja
el zumo de piña
la leche
el agua
el agua mineral
el agua con gas
el agua sin gas

El Alcohol

la cerveza
el vino blanco
el vino rojo
la sidra
el whisky
el jerez
el vodka
el ron

A Comer

el restaurante
cafetería
el bar
la reserva
la mesa
la carta
el / la cliente
el camarero
la cuenta
la propina
los servicios
la botella
el plato
la taza
el cuchillo
el tenedor
la cuchara
el vaso, la copa

Find out - Phrasal verb

The verb To Find = Encontrar
However, as a phrasal verb* "find out" has different meanings.

*A phrasal verb is a verb with a preposition or adverb which then changes the meaning of the original verb.

For example,

To find out about (to get information) = enterarse de, averiguar, descubrir,
e.g. I need to find out about the bus timetables to the city.
e.g. I found out that she had been lying = Descubrí o me enteré que había estado mintiendo.
e.g. Find out as much as possible about the town = Entérate de todo lo que puedes sobre la cuidad.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Expressions in English / Spanish

How time flies = Cómo vuela el tiempo..
It’s a small world! = El mundo es un pañuelo.
It’s neither here nor there = Da lo mismo.
It’s six of one and half a dozen of the other = Mitad y mitad
To ask for trouble = Buscar jaleo

To be in your shoes = Ponerse en la piel del otro.

Please add some more ........

Adjectives - Opposites



Tall and Short

Adjectives - Opposites




Young and Old (sorry dad, hahahaha)

Connector words

Connectors are very important especially for to use in writing.
Here is a small selection, please add more by clicking on comment.

above all = sobre todo
absolutely = completamente
although = aunque
furthermore = además
however = sin embargo
so = así que
therefore = por lo tanto
actually = en realidad
for example = por ejemplo
from my point of view = desde mi punto de vista
on the one hand = por un lado
on the other hand = por otro lado

Plurals

English Nouns and Plurals
A noun refers to a person, place, or thing.
Doctor
Church
Assistance
Newcastle
David
Mary


A noun can be singular or plural. A singular noun is one of something and a plural noun is two or more.
General Rule: In English, the plural form of most nouns is formed by adding -s to the singular form.
book - books
idea - ideas
toy - toys
village - villages
choice - choices


Exceptions:
Nouns ending in -s, -x, -sh, or -ch form the plural by adding -es.
lens - lenses
kiss - kisses
tax - taxes
dish - dishes
church - churches
Note: When the plural requires -es another syllable is added to the noun. For example, the word book and its plural books each have one syllable. But the word dish has one syllable while the plural dishes has two syllables.


Singular nouns ending in -y preceded by a consonant change the -y to -i and adding -es.
city - cities
lady - ladies
baby - babies
fly - flies
itinerary - itineraries

Note that nouns ending in -y preceded by a vowel form the plural by adding -s, like the general rule.

Singular nouns ending in -o preceded by a consonant generally form the plural by adding -es.
hero - heroes
potato - potatoes
zero - zeroes
Note: In this case, the number of syllables doesn't change.

Some exceptions:
halo - halos
kilo - kilos
piano - pianos
taco - tacos

Singular nouns ending in -f or -fe generally form the plural by changing the -f to -v and adding -s or -es.
leaf - leaves
thief - thieves
knife - knives
wife - wives

Nouns that have -oo often become -ee in the plural.
tooth - teeth
foot - feet
goose - geese

Nouns that end in -us become plural by changing to -i.
cactus - cacti
radius - radii
focus - foci

Finally, here are three important irregular plurals that we use a lot.
child - children
woman - women
man - men

Prepositions of place in / at / on

Preposition Use - in / at / on - prepositions of place
IN
Use 'in' with spaces:
• in a room / in a building
• in a garden / in a park
Use 'in' with bodies of water:
• in the water
• in the sea
• in a river
Use 'in' with lines:
• in a row / in a line
• in a queue
AT
Use 'at' with places:
• at the bus-stop
• at the door
• at the cinema
• at the end of the street
Use 'at' with places on a page:
• at the top of the page
• at the bottom of the page
Use 'at' in groups of people:
• at the back of the class
• at the front of the class
ON
Use 'on' with surfaces:
• on the ceiling / on the wall / on the floor
• on the table
Use 'on' with small islands:
• I stayed on Maui.
Use 'on' with directions:
• on the left
• on the right
• straight on
IMPORTANT NOTES
In / at / on the corner
We say 'in the corner of a room', but 'at the corner (or 'on the corner') of a street'
In / at / on the front
• We say 'in the front / in the back' of a car
• We say 'at the front / at the back' of buildings / groups of people
• We say 'on the front / on the back' of a piece of paper

Irregular Adverbs

Most adverbs are formed by adding -ly to an adjective (e.g. slow - slowly). However, there are some irregular adverbs.

Adjectives Adverb


Good - Well
Fast - Fast
Late - Late
Early - Early
Hard - Hard
Daily - Daily

Can you think of anymore ? Add them in the comment.

Cardinal Numbers /Numeros cardinales

Number Pronunciation
1 One (uán)
2 Two (tú)
3 Three (zrii)
4 Four (fóar)
5 Five (faif)
6 Six (six)
7 Seven (sefn)
8 Eight (éit)
9 Nine (náin)
10 Ten (ten)
11 Eleven (elevn)
12 Twelve (tuelf)
13 Thirteen (zrtín)
14 Fourteen (fortín)
15 Fifteen (fiftiin)
16 Sixteen (sixtiin)
17 Seventeen (sevntiin)
18 Eighteen (eitiin)
19 Nineteen (naintiin)
20 Twenty (tuenti)
30 Thirty (zerti)
40 Fourty (forti)
50 Fifty (fifti)
60 Sixty (sixti)
70 Seventy (sevnti)
80 Eighty (eiti)
90 Ninety (nainti)
100 One hundred (uan jándred)
200 Two hundred (tú jándred)
1000 One thousand (uan zausnd)
2000 Two thousand (tú zausnd)
1000000 One million (uan mílion)

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Quiz for Phrasal Verb: 'To Ask'


Choose the correct definition for each phrasal verb...some have more than

one meaning and so are listed more than once

'Ask over' means...

Fail to keep an appointment
Invite
Sleep somewhere for the night

'Ask out' means...

Give someone a particular food
To invite someone for a date
Struggle to see who wins, both by arguing or fighting

'Ask after' means...

Reduce the price of something
Drive in front of another vehicle without warning
Enquire about someone's health, how life is going

'Ask in' means...

Need or want something
To invite somebody into your house
Annoy, irritate

'Ask round' means...

Invite someone
Confuse or make things complicated
Quit something

'Ask for' means...

Request to have or be given
Make something increase
Move quickly

'Ask around' means...

Attract
Ask a number of people for information of help
Ask someone to do something, especially to speak in public. (Formal)

'Ask for' means...

Be unsuccessful
To provoke a negative reaction
To provide what is necessary



Check your answers here


'Ask over' means.. Invite e.g. "I'm going to ask Ana over for dinner"

'Ask out' means..To invite someone for a date

e.g. "I want to ask him out but he might say no"

'Ask after' means..Enquire about someone's health, how life is going

e.g. "Tell your mother I'm asking after her"

'Ask in' means..To invite somebody into your house

e.g. "Shall I ask the neighbours in for a coffee?"

'Ask round' means...Invite someone

e.g. "Shall I ask the neighbours round for a coffee?"

'Ask for' means...Request to have or be given something

e.g. "He's such a pest, he's always asking for something"

'Ask around' means...Ask a number of people for information of help

e.g."I'll ask around for the phone number of a plumber"

'Ask for' means...To provoke a negative reaction

e.g. "He was asking for a punch on the nose, because he was laughing at me"

Listening Exercises for all Levels

On the website http://www.mansioningles.com/listening00.htm you will find some good listening exercises at all levels.

The Alphabet / Abecedario

Letter

Pronunciation

Letter

Pronunciation

A

ei

N

en

B

bi

O

ou

C

si

P

pi

D

di

Q

kiu

E

i

R

ar

F

ef

S

es

G

yi

T

ti

H

eich

U

iu

I

ai

V

fi

J

yei

W

dobeliu

K

kei

X

ecs

L

el

Y

uai

M

em

Z

sed

Ordinal Numbers / Números Ordinales

Números Ordinales

Escritura

Pronunciación

1st

first

ferst

2nd

second

second

3rd

third

zerd

4th

fourth

forz

5th

fifth

fifz

6th

sixth

sixz

7th

seventh

sévnz

8th

eighth

éitz

9th

ninth

nainz

10th

tenth

tenz

11th

eleventh

ilévenz

12th

twelfth

tuelz

13th

thirteenth

tortiinz

14th

fourteenth

fortiinz

15th

fifteenth

fiftiinz

16th

sixteenth

sixtiinz

17th

seventeenth

senventiinz

18th

eighteenth

eitiinz

19th

nineteenth

nintiinz

20th

twentieth

tuentiz

21st

twenty-first

tuenti-fersz

22nd

twenty-second

tuenti-second

30th

thirtieth

zertiz

40th

fortieth

fortiz

50th

fiftieth

fiftiz

60th

sixtieth

sixtiz

70th

seventieth

sevntiz

80th

eightieth

eitiz

90th

ninetieth

naintiz

100th

hundredth

jándredz

101st

hundred and first

jándred and fersz

200th

two hundredth

tú jándredz

1.000th

thousandth

uan zausndz

10.000th

ten thousandth

ten zausndz

100.000th

one hundred thousandth

uan jándred zausndz

1.000.000th

one millionth

uán mílionz