English in Madrid

Source: George Pagan III on Unsplash   profit  (n) - money that you get from selling goods or services for more than they cost to produce or provide ( beneficio(s), ganancia(s) ) e.g. He sold the property at a huge profit . e,g, Company profits are down from last year's figures. e.g. It's very hard for a new business to make a profit in its first year. to profit from sth - to earn money from something or to get an advantage from sth ( beneficarse de algo, sacar provecho de algo ) e.g. The company will profit from the merger. e.g. I profited enormously from working with them. @Augus171717 English in Madrid: Dishonest Brits profit from holidays in Spain https://t.co/Xn5ZfbAHqV — Graham Mad Teacher (@madteacher72) May 21, 2020   renovate = repair and decorate a building that is old and in bad condition e.g. He renovated the house and sold it at a profit. renovar un doumento = renew revision = repaso e.g. I need to do some revision for my exam. un revisión (médica) =...

Source: You Tube (El Publicista) Key Words: equality stamps Spain criticized for unequally priced ‘equality stamps’  Spain’s postal service is feeling a backlash from its attempt to highlight racial inequality.   State-owned Correos España this week issued a set of four stamps in different skin-colored tones. The darker the stamp , the lower the price. The lightest color costs 1.60 euros ($1.95). The darkest one costs 0.70 euros ($0.85).  The postal service calls them “Equality Stamps” and introduced them on the anniversary of George Floyd being killed by a police officer in Minneapolis. It said the stamps “reflect an unfair and painful reality that shouldn’t be allowed ” and that every letter or parcel sent with them would “send a message against racial inequality.”  The campaign was launched during European Diversity Month in collaboration with Spain’s national SOS Racism Federation, a nonprofit group, and featured a 60-second video with Spani...

Source: Martin Sanchez on Unsplash Madrid mayor decries partying Spaniards as Covid lockdown ends   Calls for restraint as thousands gather to celebrate lifting of nation’s six-month state of emergency   The mayor of Madrid has appealed for people to behave responsibly after thousands of people greeted the end of Spain’s six-month state of emergency by taking to the streets of towns and cities across the country in spontaneous celebration.  At the end of October last year, the socialist- led coalition government of the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, declared a state of emergency that included a nationwide overnight curfew , restrictions on travelling between regions and a ban on gatherings of more than six people.  As the clock struck midnight on Saturday and the state of emergency ended, fireworks were let off in Madrid and people congregated in Puerta del Sol, the central square where revellers traditionally gather to see in the new year...

In previous posts we have seen the use of negative inversion . Here are some examples to jog your memory : Not only did he win gold,  he also broke the world record Not only will she be the first woman Prime Minister, but she will also be the youngest person to hold the office. Under no circumstances must you talk during the exam. On no account should he get all the blame for the mix-up. Never does my boss  admit that she is wrong. Rarely will an opportunity this good come our way again. Little did I know that we would end up working for the same firm. Only then did I realise that something was wrong. At no point did he show any signs of stress. No way am I going to do that again. No sooner had he arrived than a heated discussion began. We can also use inversion with conditionals . Consider these examples of zero and first conditional : If you need any more information, don't hesitate to call us.. If you want to go ahead, let me know asap. If the flight is dela...

Source:  Brett Jordan on Unsplash University students will not be marked down for bad spelling because it would be ELITIST  Academics have been told that insisting on good written English discriminates  Some universities have been adopting so-called 'inclusive assessment' systems  Regulator wants to reduce gap between white and black student attainment rate University students will not be marked down for poor spelling , grammar and punctuation in exams because it would be 'elitist'.  Academics have been told that insisting on good written English discriminates against ethnic minorities and those who went to 'underperforming' schools.  The Office for Students wants to reduce the gap between the proportion of white and black students gaining good degrees and cut dropout rates among poorer students.  In response, some universities have been adopting so-called 'inclusive assessment', a more flexible scheme first introduced to level the playing fie...

Source: Wikipedia (Archives New Zealand) Prince Philip on royal duty: In his own words   Despite the DoE's many achievements in a long life of service, some will remember him as a man who was often blunt , sometimes to the point of giving offence.  His supporters always said his sense of humour was misunderstood and his remarks often taken out of context. And he himself was not unaware of his reputation - he once described himself as a " cantankerous old sod ".  Here are some of his most well-known lines, in chronological order. You may find some of the quotes below offensive.  2. "Dontopedalogy is the science of opening your mouth and putting your foot in it , a science which I have practised for a good many years."  According to Time magazine, the duke coined a new term for his verbal missteps - incorporating the Latin words for "mouth" and "foot" - in a speech to the General Dental Council in 1960.  3. " Looks like the k...

Source: Wikipedia (Jove)   Spanish riot police clash with protesters after rapper arrested   Rubber bullets fired at crowds in Madrid day after Pablo Hasél was detained on charges of glorifying terrorism  Police have fired teargas, rubber bullets and sound bombs at thousands of protesters in Madrid, the day after a rapper was arrested on charges of glorifying terrorism and insulting royalty in his songs.  Protests in the capital’s central Plaza de Sol square were initially peaceful, with people clapping their hands in unison and chanting , “No more police violence” and “Freedom for Pablo Hasél”, the rapper detained in the Catalan city of Lleida on Tuesday.  But police charged into the crowd wielding batons after a few protesters began throwing glass bottles and stones that they had loosened from the pavement . Some protesters responded by setting fire to containers to create barricades in the narrow Madrid streets.  In Barcelona, police al...

Source: Arnaud Jaegers on Unsplash   Catalonia election: pro-independence parties increase majority   Catalan Socialist party finishes first as secessionists win more than half the vote on turnout of only 53%   Source: Guardian News Catalan pro-independence parties have increased their parliamentary majority following a regional election in which the unionist Socialists took the largest share of the vote and the far-right Vox party outperformed its conservative rivals to win its first seats in the northeastern Spanish region.  Sunday’s election was overshadowed by the Covid pandemic and dominated by the continuing debate over independence that has shaped and divided Catalan politics for the past decade.  For the first time, pro-independence parties took more than half the votes , winning 51% – up from 47.5% in the last regional election in December 2017. Between them , they now hold 74 of the 135 seats in the Catalan parliament, an increase ...