COLOUR IDIOMS

Colour idioms are very common in English. We’ve chosen ten common ones for this list.
At the bottom of the page there is a little quiz to see how many you can remember.



black and white

Thinking of everything or judging everything in a simple way and seeing it as either good or bad.
The situation isn’t as black and white as it seems; it’s much more complicated.

to black out

To darken by putting out the electric lights or covering over the windows.
Londoners had to black out their windows during the German bombing raids at the beginning of the war.

to black out

To lose consciousness.
He blacked out after standing up for three hours in the parade. A doctor had to attend to him.

to be blue in the face

To be very angry or upset; to be excited and very emotional.
She argued with her husband until she was blue in the face but he wouldn’t see her point of view.

to be green

To be inexperienced and/or immature.
He’s a bit green – he still believes that someone is going to come and help him out of his situation. He doesn’t realise he has to do it himself.

the grass is always greener (on the other side)

When a place that is far away or different seems better than the place where we are now.
He must be crazy to leave the company; he’s got a great job and a great salary. He really should stay where he is but he can’t see it – the grass is always greener on the other side.

to be green with envy

To be very jealous and full of envy.
I was green with envy when I heard that she was going on holiday to Spain for a week while I had to stay and work.

to be in the red

To have debts.
The company has been in the red for two years now. We now owe over $500,000 to our suppliers and the bank.

red tape

Excessive bureaucracy.
Many businesses complain about the amount of red tape that they have to deal with in Russia.

to come out of the blue

When something happens without a warning and by surprise.
His decision to leave the company came completely out of the blue. No one expected it at all.

TEN BASIC PHRASAL VERBS FOR BEGINNERS IN ENGLISH

Here are 10 important phrasal verbs for elementary learners of English.
If you're learning English and you're in the beginner level you must learn this basic Phrasal verbs.

wake up

To stop sleeping. I wake up at 6 o’clock every morning.
[irregular verb] The verb wake is irregular: wake, woke, woken.
I woke up at 7 o’clock yesterday morning.

get up

To get out of bed. I always wake up at 6.30 and then I get up at 6.40.
[irregular verb] The verb get is irregular: get, got, got.
Yesterday I got up late.

speak up

To speak more loudly. Speak up, please! I can’t hear you.
[irregular verb] The verb speak is irregular: speak, spoke, spoken.

hurry up

To go more quickly. We are late. Hurry up!
You’re so slow. Please hurry up!

give up

To stop a habit. I want to give up smoking. It’s unhealthy and expensive.
[irregular verb] The verb give is irregular: give, gave, given.
I gave up smoking last year. I feel much healthier now.

wash up

To wash the plates, cups and cutlery. My wife cooked the dinner and afterwards I washed up.

slow down

To go more slowly. Don’t drive so quickly – slow down!
You’re speaking too quickly. Please slow down!

break down

When a car or machine stops working. Old cars often break down.
[irregular verb] The verb break is irregular:break, broke, broken.
My car broke down yesterday and I was late for work.

look out

To be careful, to pay attention. Look out! The floor is wet.

grow up

When a child is bigger and becomes an adult. My daughter is growing up fast.
[irregular verb] The verb grow is irregular: grow, grew, grown.
He grew up in London but now he lives in Paris.

via speakspeak.com

KING ARTHUR AND HIS KNIGHTS

KING ARTHUR AND HIS KNIGHTS. This is the first book of a series of Cheap Graded Readers for Students. Due to the difficult times we are living in we cannot spend too much money in school books, so this is our economic proposal.

This books has also activities carried out by INTERMEDIATE students ( A2, B1, Bachillerato 1, 2) or by those who want to update their "English" reading comprehension .This book can be use in the English classroom in an easy and effective way, since the students can dowload the book at home and print it for the cheapest price. They don't have to wait to get the book for two weeks , they will get it in five minutes!

If you want to read the book press the cover.

 

 

Nota para España:

Este libro pertenece a una nueva colección de lecturas graduadas para el estudiante de Inglés. La Leyenda del Rey Arturo, está destinado a estudiantes de nivel intermedio (A2, B1) y alumnado de Bachillerato 1º y 2º o Escuela Oficial de Idiomas.

 

Esta nueva colección pretende ofrecer versines muy económicas para que el alumnado pueda descargar desde casa una copia del libro y poder leeerlo sin tener que desemb



NEGATIVE ADJECTIVES starting with prefix UN-

Adjetivos Negativos que empiezan por el prefijo UN-

These adjectives begin with the prefix UN- meaning the opposite, they are difficult for Foreign students;  they usually misuse them and place In-, Im-, dis- instead of  Un-

UNABLE:
UNACCEPTABLE:
UNBELIEVABLE:
UNCLEAR:
UNCOMFORTABLE:
UNCOMMON:

MAROON 5 "PAYPHONE"

This great song will be of great help because you have the lyrics in English and the translation in Spanish at the same time.

 En caso de duda podéis leer la traducción en Español, así que no os dejo vocabulario, estudiad las palabras nuevas que ya aparecen traducidas. La dicción de la canción es perfecta y fácil de entender, incluso el rap.

ENJOY THIS MASTER PIECE






LYRICS

I'm at a payphone trying to call home
All of my change I spent on you
Where have the times gone
Baby it's all wrong, where are the plans we made for two?

Yeah, I, I know it's hard to remember
The people we used to be
It's even harder to picture
That you're not here next to me
You say it's too late to make it
But is it too late to try?
And in our time that you wasted
All of our bridges burned down

I've wasted my nights
You turned out the lights
Now I'm paralyzed
Still stuck in that time when we called it love
But even the sun sets in paradise

I'm at a payphone trying to call home
All of my change I spent on you
Where have the times gone
Baby it's all wrong, where are the plans we made for two?

If happy ever after did exist
I would still be holding you like this
All those fairytales are full of sh*t
One more stupid love song I'll be sick

You turned your back on tomorrow
Cause you forgot yesterday
I gave you my love to borrow
But just gave it away
You can't expect me to be fine
I don't expect you to care
I know I've said it before
But all of our bridges burned down

I've wasted my nights
You turned out the lights
Now I'm paralyzed
Still stuck in that time when we called it love
But even the sun sets in paradise

I'm at a payphone trying to call home
All of my change I spent on you
Where have the times gone
Baby it's all wrong, where are the plans we made for two?

If happy ever after did exist
I would still be holding you like this
All those fairytales are full of sh*t
One more stupid love song I'll be sick

Now I'm at a payphone...

[Wiz Khalifa]
Man work that sh*t
I'll be out spending all this money while you sitting round
Wondering why it wasn't you who came up from nothing
Made it from the bottom
Now when you see me I'm stunning
And all of my cars start with the push up a button
Telling me the chances I blew up or whatever you call it
Switched the number to my phone
So you never could call it
Don't need my name on my show
You can tell it I'm ballin'
Swish, what a shame could have got picked
Had a really good game but you missed your last shot
So you talk about who you see at the top
Or what you could've saw
But sad to say it's over for
Phantom pulled up valet open doors
Wiz like go away, got what you was looking for
Now ask me who they want
So you can go and take that little piece of sh*t with you

I'm at a payphone trying to call home
All of my change I spent on you
Where have the times gone
Baby it's all wrong, where are the plans we made for two?

If happy ever after did exist
I would still be holding you like this
All those fairytales are full of sh*t
One more stupid love song I'll be sick

Now I'm at a payphone...

THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN (Reading Comprehension C1 level)

Today we're going to read about this Marvel's SuperHero, the level is a bit hard but you have to set some difficult goals in order to develop your Reading Skill.

On the other hand for those who want to become familiar with writing reviews, this is an example of a Movie Review.

When a studio reboots a franchise, starting from scratch while unavoidably having to repeat much of the same subject matter, comparisons are inevitable. Usually, though, the turnaround doesn't occur five quick years down the line (well, okay, this also happened with 2003's "Hulk" and 2008's "The Incredible Hulk"). In keeping this rather undesirable ritual going, Columbia Pictures has found a new creative team, a new cast, and added an adjective to the title ("What's better than 'Spider-Man'?" one studio exec probably said during pre-production. "How about 'The Amazing Spider-Man'?"). While 2002's "Spider-Man," 2004's "Spider-Man 2," and 2007's "Spider-Man 3" marked that rare trilogy that remained consistently successful over three films, its particular story and character arcs involving Peter Parker, Mary Jane Watson, and Harry Osborn had admittedly played themselves out by the end of the last one. For this so-called "re-imagining," director Sam Raimi is out and Marc Webb (2009's "(500) Days of Summer") is in, taking on a daunting summer tentpole about one hundred times bigger in size than his lovely indie debut. Meanwhile, screenwriting duties fall to sole returnee Alvin Sargent, and is extended to James Vanderbilt (2010's "The Losers") and Steve Kloves (2011's "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"). As for the lead actor, 28-year-old Andrew Garfield (2010's "The Social Network") has been chosen to play 17-year-old Peter Parker because, apparently, there are no talented actual teenagers in Hollywood.


If not as tightly paced or even as emotionally gratifying as its forefather, "The Amazing Spider-Man" delivers spectacle and a hard choice near the end that suggests this rebooted series, like Christopher Nolan's "Batman" trilogy, may fully come into its own with a superior second entry that has already gotten the familiar setup out of the way. This one must be judged alone, however, and there is no getting around its been-there-done-that tedium and underlying reason for being: Columbia Pictures was desperate to add another surefire franchise release to their schedule, even if it meant returning to a well dipped into a measly half-decade ago. "The Amazing Spider-Man" can be immersive - the climax is certainly pulled off on an ornate scale - but does it also capture a comparable pure heart and freshness to Raimi's vision? No. Its creation and conception simply smell of too much cynicism.
from: www.worstprevies.com

Vocabulary:

Indie: Independent movie.
Reboots: reuses
Cynicism: Irony.

How to be fluent in English?

A menudo nos preguntamos ¿Cómo podemos ganar fluidez en Inglés? Estas son unas buenas claves:

1. Most effective tip: "Think in English" (Piensa en Inglés)

One of the most common mistakes that English learners make is, they think in their mother tongue. When they want to say something in English, they think in their mother tongue, translate it to English and then say it in English. The result is a very flawed English sentence. Never do this!
If you want to speak in English fluently you will have to learn to "think" in English. When you are constructing sentences in your mind before saying them, think in English and form them in English in your mind.

2. Chat with fluent English speakers (Charla con nativos, fuera vergüenza! )

Chat with fluent English speakers real or online. Make friends with interesting English speakers. Become pen-pals with a fluent English speaker.
While talking to them look at their lip movement for tips on how to pronounce words correctly.

3. Rent or buy an English movie DVD (o descárgalo, legalmente, claro)

Rent or buy an English movie DVD. Put the English subtitles on. Follow the movie.
This has many advantages:

• You will be able to compare the written words to the correct pronunciations.
• You will get a feel of how real English sentences are formed when speaking.
• You will be learning English but it will not be frustrating and boring because you will be watching a movie.

4. Read English fiction novels

Read English fiction of your choice. This is our India. Books are not costly here. You get cheap book in every nook and corner.

5. Listen to the radio and TV

A s much as possible, When you're in the car, or your kids are watching " Bob squarepants" TDT has the possibility to listen to the original sound of movies and cartoons , take advantage of this!!

Besides this, there are also many different radio stations available now-a-days in the big cities. Some of these radio stations are in English. Listen to them to get a feel of the language.

Lie / Lay / Lying / Laying (Students' doubts)

Lie is an intransitive verb (one that does not take an object), meaning "to recline." Its principal parts are lie (base form), lay (past tense), lain (past participal), and lying (present participle). [Lie meaning "to tell an untruth" uses lied for both the past tense and past participle, with lying as the present participle.] Lay is a transitive verb (one that takes an object), meaning "to put" or "to place." Its principal parts are lay (base form), laid (past tense), laid (past participle), and laying (present participle). The two words have different meanings and are not interchangeable. Although lay also serves as the past tense of lie (to recline) – as in, "He lay down for a nap an hour ago" – lay (or laying) may not otherwise be used to denote reclining. It is not correct to say or write, "I will lay down for nap" or "He is laying down for a nap." The misuse of lay or laying in the sense of "to recline" (which requires lie or lying) is the most common error involving the confusion of these two words. > Once you lay (put or place) a book on the desk, it is lying (reclining, resting) there, not laying there. > When you go to Bermuda for your vacation, you spend your time lying (not laying) on the beach (unless, of course, you are engaged in sexual activity and are, in the vernacular, laying someone on the beach). > You lie down on the sofa to watch TV and spend the entire evening lying there; you do not lay down on the sofa to watch TV and spend the entire evening laying there. > If you see something lying on the ground, it is just resting there; if you see something laying on the ground, it must be doing something else, such as laying eggs.

REWRITING AND REPHRASING HANDBOOK (reescribe y parafrasea en Inglés)

This book is perfect to improve your Grammar at an intermediate or advanced level,  and revise all grammar points in English: indirect speech, modals, passives, conditionals, phrasal verbs... More than 150 activities to test your acuracy in English!

 Presentamos un libro realizado por nuestra  web www.myplaceforenglish.tk muy útil tanto para el profesorado de Educación Secundaria, como para el  profesorado de EOI.

A su vez este volumen nos permite repasar si somos alumnos toda la gramática a través de una técnica muy temida: el reescribir una frase en otro idioma o parafrasear la frase para que conserve el mismo significado.

Este volumen se compone de más de 150 ejemplos resueltos para poner a prueba nuestra gramática. Ideal para repasar ante exámenes de nivel intermedio: B1, B2 de EOI , o antes de Selectividad, o durante el Bachillerato.

Para Descargar el libro , click aquí.
Download here!

Who was St Patrick? Celebrate St. Patrick's Day. March 17th

Who Was Saint Patrick?

Even though Saint Patrick the patron saint of Ireland and one of the most celebrated religious figures around the world, the factual information about his life and times is quite vague. Most information about St. Patrick has been twisted, embellished, or simply made up over centuries by storytellers, causing much ambiguity about the real life of St. Patrick. However, there are a some elements of his story about which most scholars accept to be true.

According to Coilin Owens, Irish literature expert and Professor Emeritus of English at George Mason University, Saint Patrick is traditionally thought to have lived "between 432-461 A.D., but more recent scholarship moves the dates up a bit." At the age of sixteen he was kidnapped from his native land of the Roman British Isles by a band pirates, and sold into slavery in Ireland. Saint Patrick worked as a shepherd and turned to religion for solace. After six years of slavery he escaped to the Irish coast and fled home to Britain.

While back in his homeland, Patrick decided to become a priest and then decided to return to Ireland after dreaming that the voices of the Irish people were calling him to convert them to Christianity.

After studying and preparing for several years, Patrick traveled back to Ireland as a Christian missionary. Although there were already some Christians living in Ireland, St. Patrick was able to bring upon a massive religious shift to Christianity by converting people of power. Says Prof. Owens, "[St. Patrick] is credited with converting the nobles; who set an example which the people followed."

But Patrick's desire to spread of Christianity was not met without mighty opposition. Prof. Owens explains, "Patrick ran into trouble with the local pagan priesthood, the druids: and there are many stories about his arguments with them as well as his survival of plots against them." He laid the groundwork for the establishment of hundreds of monasteries and churches that eventually popped up across the Irish country to promote Christianity.

Saint Patrick is also credited with bringing written word to Ireland through the promotion of the study of legal texts and the Bible, says Prof. Owens. Previous to Patrick, storytelling and history were reliant on memory and orally passing down stories.

Patrick's mission in Ireland is said to have lasted for thirty years. It is believe he died in the 5th century on March 17, which is the day St. Patrick's Day is commemorated each year.

The first year St. Patrick's Day was celebrated in America in 1737 in Boston, Massachusetts. The first official St. Patrick's Day parade was held in New York City in 1766. As the saying goes, on this day "everybody is Irish!" Over 100 U.S. cities now hold Saint Patrick's Day parades.