English in Madrid

In your first week of class you start getting to know your new classmates. You will probably find out about their job, family, interests and experience learning English. Here are some typical sentences which I'd like you to translate. (I hope I haven't made any mistakes) A. ¿Cómo te llamas? ¿De dónde eres? Nací en (Galicia) pero me crie en (Madrid). Nos mudamos a (Madrid) cuando tenía (12 años). Originalmente soy de (Murcia) pero llevo viviendo en (Madrid) diez años. ¿ Dónde vives? ¿Desde cuándo vives aquí?  B. ¿Estás casado? Estoy casado con (María). Estoy divorciado. Estoy comprometido. Me casaré el año que viene. ¿Tienes novio/novia? ¿Cuánto tiempo os conocéis? ¿Cuánto tiempo lleváis saliendo? Me casé el año pasado. ¿Dónde os conocisteis? ¿Tienes hijos? Vienes de una familia grande? ¿Cuántos hermanos tienes? Soy hijo único.  C. ¿Qué carrera estudiaste en la universidad? ¿Dónde hiciste los estudios? ¿Qué estudias? Estoy licenciad...

Pasta firm Barilla boycotted over 'classic family' remarks Chairman Guido Barilla causes outrage in Italy after say ing he would not consider using a gay family to advertise his products Gay rights activists in Italy have launched a boycott of the world's leading pasta maker after its chairman said he would only portray the "classic family" in his advertisements and, if people objected to that, they should feel free to eat a different kind of pasta. Guido Barilla, who controls the fourth-generation Barilla Group family business with his two brothers, sparked outrage among activists, consumers and some politicians when he said he would not consider us ing a gay family to advertise Barilla pasta.  "For us the concept of the sacred family remains one of the basic values of the company," he told Italian radio on Wednesday evening. "I would not do it but not out of a lack of respect for homosexuals who have the right to do what they want w...

Spain Mulls Turning Back The Time Zone Clock Changing the clocks to put Madrid in line with London would help improve eating and sleeping habits, politicians are told. Spain is considering changing its time zone to reverse a World War Two decision that put the country in sync with Nazi Germany. Until the 1940s, Spain was in the same zone as Britain and Portugal, which are on roughly  the same latitude. But when Nazi-occupied France switched to German time, Spain's Franco dictatorship followed suit . Now there are calls for the decision to be reversed - on the grounds that it would help boost   Spaniards' quality of life. Switching to British time might bring Spain some family-friendly British customs , parliament's Equality Commission suggested. Its study said: "The fact that for more than 71 years Spain has not been in its proper time zone means ... we sleep almost an hour less than the World Health Organisation recommends. "All thi...

Image source: Wikipedia (Sven Storbeck) It's the end of the road for VW campervans: Safety rule changes in Brazil stop production of 1960s iconic vehicle Brazil the last place in the world still making the motoring icon Volkswagen said production will end on December 31 because of new vehicle safety regulations in the country Rules state every vehicle must have air bags and anti-lock braking systems Commemorative special series with a production run of 600 will be made More than 10 million vans have been produced worldwide since the van was introduced in Germany 63 years ago, 1.5 million of those in Brazil It carried hippies through the Sixties before becoming a workhorse across the developing world. But the long journey of the VW camper van is finally coming to an end. Brazil is the last place in the world still producing the vehicle known by aficionados as the ‘bus’, but Volkswagen has said production will end there on December 31. More than 10million of them have...

Source:  Shaurya Sagar on Unsplash The other day, when asked about her holidays, Cristina said "We enjoyed a lot."  😡 What  is missing from the sentence? Enjoy is always followed by either an object or an object pronoun or a reflexive pronoun . I really enjoyed her company .  😍  A: How was the party last night?        B:  We enjoyed it a lot.  😍  As well as improving his English, our son really enjoyed  when he was in Scotland.  😡 As well as improving his English, our son really enjoyed himself when he was in Scotland.  😍                 The verbs like, love, prefer and hate are also followed by objects. A: Do you like Italian food ?     B: Yes, I love.   😡      B: Yes, I love it .  😍  A: I  hate Hugh Grant ....

I think it might be a good idea to share things that come up in class.  That way you can learn from other students' mistakes and difficulties. Source: Markus Winkler on Unsplash When asked about  Bottle's speech , José Luis said " What a shame! " Knowing he isn't a fan of Ana, I think he meant: " How embarrassing! / What an embarrassment! " So what is the difference? What + (a) + noun ! / How + adjective ! We say What a shame!  / that's a shame to express disappointment; similar to pity. A: Madrid didn't win the Olympics.       B: Really? Oh, that's a shame . A: I didn't get the job.     B: What a shame! The above examples shame would be translated as pena . But in other contexts shame would be translated as v erguenza : http://t.co/x91q30toLf Shame on those who attend this barbaric event. #EnSanFerminPanueloNegro — Graham Mad Teacher (@madteacher72) July 6, 20...

Source: You Tube (Efraim Diaz)   Key words: botella inglés   A week has passed since the IOC didn't award the Olympics to Madrid. Was it all the fault of the "relaxing cup of coffee" speech? The guy who wrote the by-now infamous speech, said that her English was "excellent, delightful and easy to understand". I'm sure he has been paid good money to say that. Coming up : an analysis of her pronunciation and intonation. Thank you Ignacio, President Rogge, Dear (1) IOC members, ladies and gentlemen. I (2) had the chance to speak to many of you in private conversations and also in our presentations in (3) Saint Petersburg and Lausanne. I must (4) say , I’d like to continue our (5) friendship , and frankly, I don’t want this to be our last chance to (6) speak to each other. So let me tell you a (5) little more about my beautiful hometown, (5) Madrid . Madrid is one of the most comfortable, (7) charming and inviting cities in th...