LIKE vs AS

LIKE vs AS

’Like’ y ’As’ se traducen por ’como’, pero hay diferencias entre los dos. La regla básica es:

LIKE: ’Like’ quiere decir ’parecido a’ o ’por ejemplo’.

La estructura de la oración es usualmente: verbo + like +sustantivo/ pronombre

• He speaks like a native speaker ( El habla como un hablante nativo)
• She looks like a queen ( Ella luce o se ve como una reina)
• He works like a nurse( El trabaja como un enfermero)
• It’s like Texas (similar a)

AS: As’ quiere decir ’en función de’. También puede significar ’mientras’ o ’a medida que’

La estructura dela oración usualmente es: verbo + asunto+verbo

• Nobody sings as she does( Nadie canta como ella lo hace)
• They went to the party as they were (Ellos fueron a la fiesta como estaban)

***Es muy común en Inglés Americano, usar like en lugar de as. Sin embargo es generalmente considerado informal usarlo en esta forma:

We play football like champions do.

Another use of as is to say what the role/function of a person/thing is.

• He started work as a carpenter
• She used the tapestry as a decoration in her living room.

EJ WITH LIKE

-Your jacket is like mine. (Tu chaqueta es como la mía.)

-It’s like he thought.( Es como él pensaba)

-Your hands are like ice./ tus manos con como el hielo).

-Korean food is like Japanese food.( la comida koreana es conmo la japonesa)

-Are Portuguese people like us?( son los portugueses como nosotros?)

-Do they eat like us?( Comen como nosotros?)

EJ WITH AS

-As you well know, we have to stop the production.( Como bien sabes, tenemos que parar la producción.)

-As you read it will make more sense.( a medida que leas tendrá más sentido).

-As time passes, you will understand.( Conforme pase el tiempo entenderás).

-They gave it to me as a gift.( ellos me lo dieron como un regalo).

Musical Instruments

accordion (akórdion) – acordeón

banjo (bándchou) - banjo
bass guitar (béis guitár) – bajo

bassoon (basún) – fagot

bongo (bóngou) - bongó
bugle (biúgl) – clarín

cello (chélou) - violoncelo
clarinet (clarinét) - clarinete
cymbals (símbals) - platillos

double bass (dóbl béis) - contrabajo
drum (drám) - tambor
drums (dráms) - batería
drumsticks (drámstiks) - palillos

fiddle (fídl) - violín
flute (flút) - flauta
gong (góng) - gong

grand piano (gránd piánou) - piano de cola
guitar (guitár) - guitarra

harmonica (harmónica) - armónica
harp (hárp) - harpa

kettledrum (kétl dram) - timbal
keyboard (kíbord) - teclado
keys (kíis) - teclas
lute (lúut) - laúd

mandoline (mándolin) - mandolina
maraca (moráca) - maraca

oboe (óubou) - oboe
organ (órgan) - órgano

piano (piánou) - piano
piccolo (pícolou) - flautín
saxophone (sáxofoun) - saxofón
string (stríng) - cuerda
synthesizer (sínzisáiser) - sintetizador
tambourine (tamboríin) - pandereta
trombone (trombóun) - trombón

trumpet (trámpet) - trompeta
tuba (tiúba) - tuba
violin (vaiolín) - violín
xylophone (sáilofoun) - xilofón

Meeting to practise en english

Meetings

MEETINGS (reuniones)

A

Sean:   The office move, as you know, the plans have been up by the main exit for a week now. I just wanted to see what kind of feedback you’ve got.

Tim:      Yeah, Sean, I’m sorry, but I really strongly disagree with the new floor plan. I think it's divisive to separate the secretaries and the assistants out from the editors and managers. I’d be much happier if we could be located in teams.

Carrie:  Actually, I think Sean is right. I’ve been chatting to some of the secretaries and they’re quite keep to all be sitting in the same area, and, speaking as an editor, I think I’d like to be with other editors so that we can bounce ideas off each other and things. So I think Sean’s floor plan is right.

B

If you are interrupting or disagreeing with people, it is even more important to be polite: your views are more likely to be respected if you present them in a professional and non-confrontational (non-argumentative) way.

There are several ways to make what you say sound more polite and less confrontational:

Use 'can' or 'could'.  
In unit 4, John says; 'Sean, can I just ask you…?'
In Unit 1, Alex says 'If you could go through them in order…'
Both expressions above are more polite than simply saying 'I want to know…' or 'Go through them in order…'

Use 'would like'
In unit 2, Tim says '…I'd like to be with other editors…'
In unit 3, Will says 'I would like to be able to show her drawings…'
This sounds are much more polite than 'I want…'

Say 'sorry'
In unit 2, Tim says: 'I'm sorry, but I really strongly disagree…'
In unit 4, John says: 'Sorry to hold the meeting up'

This is a very common way to 'soften' what you say. Tim and John are not really apologising for what they say - using 'sorry' is telling the listener: 'I'm going to say or do something you might not like, so please don’t get upset'.

Use 'just'
In unit 2, Sean says: 'I just wanted to see…' 
In unit 4, John says; 'Sean, can I just ask you…?'
The word 'just' gives the listener a message that you are not asking them to deal with something difficult or time-consuming; that it is not going to be a problem.  

Use 'I think' or 'I feel'
In unit 4, John says: 'I do feel quite strongly that we're bringing this out too soon…'
and Carrie says 'I don’t think we’ve got any choice…'
These phrases have the effect of softening what they are saying, by presenting their ideas as opinions, not orders or instructions.

Sean:   First of all, the book re-launch. I just wanted to remind everybody that we will be re-launching the fairy-tales range with new modern covers, and that this is going to happen at the beginning of next month. It's important that we get this right and there have been quite a few…

John:    Actually Sean, can I just ask you – sorry to hold the meeting up – can I ask you about those dates, because I thought that this was going to be published the month after next, and I understand that everybody has got their dates, but I do feel quite strongly that we’re bringing this out too soon.

Sean:   Well, any other thoughts before I comment on that?

Carrie:  I don’t think we’ve got any choice at all about it. If the radio programmes are going out at the beginning of next month, we’ve got to launch the book at the same time if we’re going to have any sales impact.

SPEAK, TALK HABLAR

SPEAK-TALK (HABLAR)

I spoke to Ms. Brown.	Yo hablaba con la Sra. Brown.
She will talk to your father.	Ella va a hablar con tu/su padre.
They spoke to her son.	Ellos hablaron con su hijo.
We are talking to a professor.	Nosotros estamos hablando con un profesor.

Al hablar con alguien, la preposición to, usualmente está en medio del verbo y de la persona a quien se le está hablando. Una opción es usar la preposición with.

	Susan was with Nancy. Susan estaba con Nancy.
	The professor is talking with her students. El profesor esta hablando con sus alumnos.
	I spoke with your friend. Yo hablé con tu amigo. English inglés German alemán Chinese chino Spanish español Portuguese portugués French francés Russian ruso Korean coreano Italian italiano Japanese japonés Arabic Árabe foreign language idioma extranjero native language or mother tongue lengua materna Al hablar de lenguas o idiomas, siempre se usa speak Mr. King speaks German. El señor King habla alemán. He speaks my native language. Él habla mi lengua materna. They speak English. Ellos hablan inglés.

Eliminating Clichés In English

Eliminating Clichés In English

Over the years, many developing writers have learned that using clichés is the primary mark of an unskilled writer. While clichés may sound impressive or clever, they are also so common that they do very little to convey the original nature of your thoughts about a particular subject. Unfortunately, when people are learning English as a second language, there can be a strong tendency to rely on clichés. Whether this comes from studying phrase books or from pop-culture references, you’ll want to be aware of this phenomenon to help eliminate unnecessary clichés from your vocabulary. In order to curtail their usage, we must first define what a “cliché” is. Dictionary.com defines the word as “a trite, stereotyped expression; a sentence or phrase, usually expressing a popular or common thought or idea that has lost originality, ingenuity, and impact by long overuse.” Cliché’s can be found throughout the English language and include such phrases as “stronger than an ox” or “sadder but wiser.”

Clichés as a Security Mechanism: When you’re trying to communicate in a foreign language, you’ll want to do everything possible to make sure that you’re understood. When you hear clichés and understand them, it’s easy to assume that native English speakers will be able to understand you clearly. In addition, because clichés often convey a sense of fun, humor, or other emotional content, you might feel that they are way to express or gain empathy. Unfortunately, because we tend to be desensitized to clichés, they are almost useless in this capacity.

It’s best to concentrate on developing your own mode of expression, so that others can recognize that you are trying to convey something unique. While this may take some extra effort, it’s well worth it. Each time you use a cliché to make sure you are understood, go back and look for a more unique sentence to express your meaning. This is especially easy to do when you’re writing, since you can go back and read what you wrote and systematically eliminate clichés. If you find yourself using clichés often during a conversation, spend some time looking in a dictionary or thesaurus for more appropriate words.

Clichés and Language Rhythm

Without question, clichés catch on because they sound interesting – whether a cliché carries a rhyming pattern or conveys a sense of humor, people just seem to want to repeat them. However, it’s important to realize that simple, direct sentences will go much further to convey sincerity and clarity than clichés. Even if you want to write or convey something humorous, it’s best to take the time to develop your own unique means of expression.
Unfortunately, the habit of using clichés can become fixed fairy quickly in non-native speakers. Even people that learned English as a primary language may use clichés too often in their writing and verbal conversations. The sooner you eliminate clichés from your vocabulary, the sooner you’ll be on the way to speaking and writing English in a clearer, more professional manner. You may even notice that finding your own method of expression makes adapting to English an enjoyable and rewarding process.

VOCABULARY

To curtail: reducir

To convey: trasmitir

Trite: trillado

Overuse: uso excesivo

To Rely: confiar

Wiser: más sabio

Notice: aviso

EMAIL WRITING

EMAIL WRITING

How many emails do you write each day?

How much time do you spend ploughing through your inbox?

Nowadays, email is an important communication tool both for personal and business use. We constantly communicate by email with colleagues, superiors,suppliers, customers, etc. and due to the fact that it's so easy to forward an email to an endless list of people, you never know in whose hands your email might end up in. So, if you think about it, it wouldn't shock you if I say that your email is a powerful personal PR tool and that how you write your email will influence the image people have about you.

Now, are you paying enough attention to the quality of your email? Here are a few tips to take into account:

1. Informative Subject Line. Be concise but informative, this helps your recipient to understand the content and they can prioritize. Never send it blank.

2. Use the spell check. Mistakes look bad, they give an awfulimpression. You must also re-read the text and make sure you don't make any other grammatical mistakes, this just causes confusion and your email more difficult to understand.

3. Pay attention to your tone. People too often reply rapidly to emails and this means they transmit their emotions with much more ease than with traditional letters. Take your time and calm downbefore replying. DON'T WRITE IN CAPS, THERE'S NO NEED TO SHOUT!

4. Be conservative. In day-to-day business it's best to be concise, brief and to the point, while also being polite.

5. Use the "reply" button. How many times have you received an email that just said OK! OK to what??? People are busy - and if like me also forget with ease - so help to jog their memories by including their message.

6. Urgent tag. If you're one of those who always send their email with the urgent label, I would just like to let you know that NO-ONE TAKES ANY NOTICE (sorry for shouting).

7. Organise the information. If you are asking various questions - or even answering them - be schematic and help your reader follow you. When answering questions it's also best to summarise each question before your answer.

8. Be careful what you forward. Someone else's email could be offensive depending on who receives it, edit it if necessary.

9. I believe it's best to leave the graphics and emoticons for friends and family.

10. Sign off professionally. Work on a signature that looks smartand professional, it's good for your image.

Here are just a few tips that I hope will help you to reflect on the importance of email writing. Although emails are normally shorter, they should be written with the same care and caution than traditional letters, it's your professional imagethat's at stake.