English in Madrid

Source:  Brett Jordan on Unsplash Below are ten tweets that contain words and expressions that have come up in class. Strange, I am getting a lot of puzzled looks today! pic.twitter.com/eaV1Y2vaC5 — R. Bowen Loftin (@bowtieger) October 4, 2014 Spain's PM says he took "sensible" decision to abandon hard-line abortion law proposals @ReutersSonyaD http://t.co/afgyzlGMeo — sarah morris (@sarahmorriseuro) September 23, 2014 I hate it when I can't get on with my work because of all the doughnuts that are on my desk. — mynameisJimmy (@jimmy_sharpe) October 29, 2014 Look who's here😎💚 he must have finished his bone & worn himself out pic.twitter.com/zwJfjjiCcE — Kitlyne (@C3glz) October 26, 2014 Some lads just don't have a clue, got steak but they'd rather have fish fingers — Georgia Charles (@geocharles_) October 27, 2014 Take a break: It's Happy No Housework Day! What's your least favorite house chore? pic.tw...

How not to behave badly abroad Travelling to all corners of the world gets easier and easier . We live in a global village, but how well do we know and understand each other? Here is a simple test. Imagine you have arranged a meeting at four o'clock. What time should you expect your foreign business colleagues to arrive? If they're German. They'll be bang on time . If they're American, they'll probably be 15 minutes early. If they're British, they'll be 15 minutes late, and you should allow up to an hour for the Italians. When the European community began to increase in size, several guidebooks appeared giving advice on international etiquette. At first many people thought this was a joke, especially the British, who seemed to assume that the widespread understanding of their language meant a corresponding understanding of English customs. Very soon they had to change their ideas, as they realised that they had a lot to learn about how to behave wit...

Exposed: student conman who fooled king A 20-year-old student from an elite business school who was arrested last week on suspicion of swindling, forging documents and impersonating public officials cosied up to the cream of Spanish society, even managing to attend King Felipe VI’s proclamation. Who is Francisco Nicolás Gómez Iglesias? Now millions of people in Spain have heard of the fresh-faced man just out of his teens who in just a few years and without any official position in public life managed to hobnob with leading politicians and business figures, even attempting to negotiate in legal matters on behalf of Spain’s former King Juan Carlos. Many of those he met on the way were initially sceptical about this wunderkind with excellent contacts in the governing Popular Party (PP) but his charm and impressive lists of contacts, backed by the evidence of selfies taken with the great and the good which he kept on his mobile phone, usually smoothed away any doubts.   The...

Source:   Anete Lusina  en  Pexels I'm often asked how you say hacer reformas or estar de obras in English. In the sense of home improvement , we don't say make reforms . There are several ways of saying it, depending on the changes that you are going to make . I'm going to do up  my bedroom .  (paper it, paint the ceiling, perhaps buy some new furniture - so it looks fresher)  They buy  run down homes and  renovate  them  and then sell them at a huge profit . (major works - to make as good as new again) I want to redecorate the living room. (the walls need papered, the ceiling needs painted) They are going to restore the church. (to repair it so it looks as it used to)  I'm going to do some DIY this weekend. (Do It Yourself - repair things and make general improvements around the house) They are having building work done next door - it'll be quite a while until the've finished....

  Ebola is highly contagious … plus seven other myths about the virus The Ebola outbreak is serious, but the nature of the epidemic is often misunderstood – and inappropriate measures suggested The Ebola outbreak has been claiming lives in Africa for many months now, but following the first Ebola death from a case diagnosed outside the continent, coverage – and concern – in the west has stepped up yet another notch. The outbreak is certainly a grave issue for west Africa, a public health priority, and has been exacerbated by a slow response from international bodies and rich nations. It has already claimed more than 3,800 lives, and could claim far more without an appropriate international response. But it is also not the species-ending disaster some fear it could be. Below are eight Ebola myths, and an attempt to set out the real position. Source: Guardian Vocabulary : an outbreak / to break out - to claim lives - coverage (n) - concern (n) - to s...

Half of Britons can't spell common words Forty per cent of Britons rely on autocorrect, survey reveals as occasionally, rhythm and conscience make it into the top words which stump writers Embarrassment, occasionally and necessary have been listed among the words Britons have most difficulty spelling. Researchers who studied 2,000 adults found that more than half had problems spelling commonly used words. The list included accommodate, questionnaire and rhythm. Conscience also proved tricky, along with occurrence, restaurant and guarantee. Source: Telegraph     Vocabulary : to rely on stg/sb  - a survey - to stump - a researcher - research (UNC) - to tend to do stg - to struggle - to rate stg -       Read this other post about spelling and the tricks to remember how to spell certain words.