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profesores de ingles

'Very' is very boring

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'Very' is very boring

In order to enrich your conversations in English try using more colorful, vibrant, intriguing adjectives, such as delicious instead of very tasty, terrified instead of very afraid, and awful instead of very bad.

Today we’re going to give you a fascinating list of 30 common adjectives and alternative words to use in order to jazz up your English speaking game!

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Conditionals

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Conditionals

Los condicionales son expresiones o frases que utilizamos en nuestro día a día. Estas sirven para expresar que algo pasa si algo más pasa antes, esto quiere decir que una acción está sujeta y depende de la otra. Para que tengas una idea más clara de cómo utilizarlas te presentaremos una palabra clave por cada uno de los 4 condicionales existentes. Así mismo te explicaremos con detalles cómo se forman estas expresiones fácilmente.

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The International Language of Music

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The International Language of Music

From the beginning of time, records show that music has been a part of human interaction. Music can be a wonderful way to learn a language.  Music can be a great introduction to different cultures. Music can connect us to different people, feelings, and ideas.  In this post, we will take a look at some important verbs, idioms, and phrasal verbs related to music as well as suggest several songs that are great for practicing English!

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Enfermedades (Diseases)

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Enfermedades (Diseases)

El invierno es sin duda alguna una de las estaciones en donde el índice de enfermedades aumenta y, por ende, tenemos que visitar al doctor. Si te has preguntado cómo expresar lo que sientes en inglés, entonces ha llegado tu día pues a continuación te enseñaremos con detalles todo el vocabulario que necesitas sobre enfermedades en inglés.

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Winter Wonderland

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Winter Wonderland

Although English doesn’t have over 50 words to describe snow like the Eskimos, we do have some “cool” vocab and phrases to help talk about the weather outside during these chilly winter months. Let’s take a look at some weather related words and phrases in order to get us through winter and into spring!

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The Time is Now! (Prepositions of Time)

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The Time is Now! (Prepositions of Time)

¿Alguna vez has tenido la duda si al hablar de alguna fecha, año, mes o día debes ocupar IN, o si es tal vez ON, o posiblemente sea AT? Esas dudas han llegado a su fin pues hoy te explicaremos con exactitud cuándo ocupar cada una de ellas a través de ejemplos claros y cotidianos.

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Wh Questions

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Wh Questions

Existen 6 tipos de “wh questions” o preguntas con palabras que inician con “wh” que podemos usar en el idioma inglés. Este tipo de preguntas requieren de respuestas específicas y no solamente de un “yes“ or “no” como respuesta por lo que a continuación las presentaremos con detalles para que puedas comenzar a utilizarlas diariamente

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Rock Star Cover Letter

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Rock Star Cover Letter

Jobs. Some of us love our jobs, many of us are comfortable with what we do, and others of us are feeling a need to change our current place of employment. If you’re part of the last group, then here are some tips to update your cover letter so you can start working towards making a career change.

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¿Cómo usar would, could, should, might & may?

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¿Cómo usar would, could, should, might & may?

Los modal verbs en el idioma inglés se ocupan para diferentes situaciones como mostrar que creemos que algo es certero o posible, para hacer ofertas, hablar de habilidades, pedir permiso, hacer solicitudes, obligación, etc. Los modal verbs son usados junto con otros verbos en su forma base o junto con el auxiliar “have”.

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Las question tags son mas comunes de lo que piensas, cachai?

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Las question tags son mas comunes de lo que piensas, cachai?

Sin duda alguna has escuchado alguna vez una question tag, no? En español seguro que sí, pero en realidad no son tan comunes, por lo que en inglés te sorprenderías lo bastante comunes que son en las conversaciones de los hablantes nativos del idioma ya que se ocupan de forma muy natural en absolutamente cualquier contexto.

Qué son las question tags?

Las question tags son pequeñas preguntas añadidas a oraciones cuando estamos confirmando información, haciendo una pregunta, cuando tenemos la necesidad de que alguien esté de acuerdo o no con nosotros o más bien queremos empezar una conversación o hacer que ésta siga fluyendo.

Comenzar a usar las question tags en nuestro vocabulario diario puede parecer un poco forzado al principio, pero con práctica seguramente se convertirán en parte natural de tu vocabulario y fluidez en el idioma, además, a continuación, te daremos algunos útiles consejos de cómo utilizarlas de la forma más fácil y entretenida.

Cómo se ocupan?

Para empezar, debemos saber que las question tags van agregadas a oraciones y no a preguntas, un ejemplo de esto sería:

-          You are a doctor, aren’t you?

Como se puede observar, la question tag corresponde al verbo y pronombre que se utilizó en la oración. La question tag es negativa pues la oración está en positivo. Este patrón siempre lo mantendremos con excepción de algunas muy particulares que más adelante te presentaré.

Ejemplos

Esta es una lista de muchos ejemplos que te harán comprender mucho mejor la estructura de las cuestión tags.

  • You don't like me, do you?

  • It isn't raining, is it?

  • You've done your homework, haven't you?

  • I'm not late, am I?

  • You like German food, don't you?

  • You'll come to my party, won't you?

  • You remembered to feed the cat, didn't you?

  • There's a problem here, isn't there?

  • You think you're clever, don't you?

Tono de voz

El tono de voz que utilicemos al hacer una question tag es muy importante pues esto reflejará el significado de ella. Si en realidad estamos haciendo una pregunta entonces nuestro tono de voz debe subir tal y como cuando hacemos una pregunta, sin embargo, cuando simplemente estamos confirmando información de la cual estamos casi seguros, entonces nuestro tono de voz deberá ser más plano y sin elevaciones.

Casos Particulares

Algunas de las oraciones con algunas particularidades son:

-          Oraciones positivas con el verbo “am”

La question tag para dicho verbo sería “aren´t”.

-          Ej,  I am late, aren’t I?

 

-          Oraciones con “Let’s”.

La question tag que utilizaremos con este tipo de oraciones será “shall we#. Let’s es la contracción de “let us” por lo tanto el pronombre será siempre “we”.

-          Ej, let’s eat, shall we?

 

-          Oraciones con palabras que expresen negación tales como: never, nothing, nobody, no one, none, no, seldom, barely, hardly, etc.

Para este tipo de oraciones siempre utilizaremos question tags en positivo. Ej,

-          Nobody came, did they?    

 Práctica Entretenida

Abajo te compartimos un link muy divertido de “The Big Bang theory” para que observes como las question tags se ocupan de forma totalmente natural en las conversaciones de nativos del idioma inglés.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zuo56O7_aU

Ahora ya eres capaz de empezar a construir oraciones con question tags por ti mismo y utilizarlas en tu día a día y ser el más seco al escucharte como todo un experto en el idioma inglés.

Escrito por Victor Pineda

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Making Plans

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Making Plans

Your phone buzzes… one of your English speaking friends has sent you a message asking if you’d like to get dinner this weekend. You frantically Google Translate your responses. And I can assure you that, as usual, Google Translate is never as accurate as we’d like it to be.  Fortunately, the vocabulary for making (and breaking) plans is relatively clear. If you avoid directly translating from Spanish and stay away from Google Translate, you can quickly and confidently master this skill.

In this post, we’ll practice the vocabulary for making plans, changing plans, and cancelling plans. We’ll also review vocab for some of the most common plans we make! Next time you friend messages you about plans, you’ll be ready.

Initiating Plans

  • Are you interested in…

Example: Are you interested in going to the beach on Saturday?

  • Would you like to…?

Example: Would you like to go out to eat on Friday night?

  • Can you…?

Example: Can you hang out on Sunday?

  • Are you free to…?

Example: Are you free to go biking Monday afternoon?

  • Are you able to…?

Example: Are you able to join us for brunch on Sunday morning?

  • Do you want to…?

Example: Do you want to grab a drink this weekend?

  • Let’s…

Example: Let’s get ice cream after work!

Responding to Proposed Plans

Positive responses!

  • That sounds great!

  • Sounds good to me.

  • Yes! I’d like to go!

  • I’d love to!

  • Great/Perfect/Excellent! I’ll be there.

  • I can definitely join.

I’m not sure…

  • Let me check my schedule and get back to you.

  • I’ll let you know!

  • It depends on_____. I’ll confirm as soon as I can!

  • Maybe! I’ll let you know as soon as possible.

  • There’s a chance I can make it. I’ll let you know.

Negative responses

  • Unfortunately, I can’t make it.

  • I’m busy, but let’s meet up another time!

  • I’m not able to go this time. So sorry!

  • That time doesn’t work for me.

Changing the Plan

  • Can we change our plan?

  • Is it possible to reschedule?

  • I’m really sorry for the trouble, but can we reschedule?

  • Our original plan actually won’t work for me. Any chance you’re available another time?

Cancelling the Plan

  • Unfortunately, I have to cancel.

  • My schedule is complicated today. I have to cancel.

  • It’s been a hectic day/week, and I’m not going to be able to make it today.

  • So sorry for the trouble, but I need to cancel! Thanks so much for understanding.

  • Something came up, and I can’t make it.

Expressing your Feelings about the Plan

  • I’m excited!

  • I’m really looking forward to it OR Looking forward to it!

    • “Look forward to” is a phrasal verb that means to have positive feelings in anticipation of something.

  • This’ll be great!

  • I’m so glad we can meet up! See you then.

Common Plan-Making Vocabulary

  • Meet up - a phrasal verb that means to informally gather with another person or a group of people

Example: Do you want to meet up sometime this week?

  • Hang out - a phrasal verb that means to spend time socializing with other people

Example: Let’s all hang out this weekend! Maybe we can go to the beach. The weather is supposed to be beautiful.

  • Get together - a phrasal verb that means to informally gather

Example: We should find a time to get together! It’s been a while since we hung out.

  • Spend time - in English, we say spend time with other people, NOT share or pass time. It directly translates to gastar tiempo. For many English language learners, this is a strange direct translation, but I promise it’s accurate!

Example: Do you want to spend time with my family this weekend? I think we’re having a picnic.

  • Get lunch/dinner/a drink - an informal way of asking if somebody wants to meet up for a meal or a drink

Example: Would you like to get dinner next Wednesday?

  • Grab lunch/dinner/a drink - another informal way of asking if somebody wants to meet up for a meal or a drink

Example: Do you want to grab a drink sometime?

  • Go out - a phrasal verb that’s often informally used to describe partying

Example: Let’s go out on Saturday night! We can get drinks and sing karaoke.







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Connectors

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Connectors

Connectors help us to link our ideas, sentences and paragraphs together in English. If you want to speak at an Intermediate or Advanced level you must know how to use these 20 connectors!

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Advanced Business English: Delivering Constructive Criticism

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Advanced Business English: Delivering Constructive Criticism

It’s challenging to give (and receive) criticism in any language. However, in the workplace, this skill is integral to your success as an employee, colleague, or manager. While this post discusses negative feedback, keep in mind that negative feedback is also called constructive criticism or suggestions for growth in professional contexts. While we may want to tell somebody that they’re lazy or inexperienced, that would be unprofessional and offensive in the workplace. As you read, notice how using questions and careful, strategic language will help you to communicate feedback in a clear, but polite way.

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Common Text Message Abbreviations

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Common Text Message Abbreviations

I’m sure you’ve seen a post in English on Facebook or Instagram with an abbreviation like loltgif, or ttyl, but did you know what those abbreviations meant? Well, we’ve put together a list of the most common abbreviations in English used on social media posts or text messages.

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