Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Spanish

Common English Idioms and Expressions

Work and Pressure

• Employees/Staff: (empleados,staff)
• To be very busy/Under pressure: to be rushed off their feet, to be up to their ears, to be breaking their backs

Opinions and Descriptions

• Food critic: (critica de comida,food critic)
• Write up/Describe: (describir,write up)

Time and Sequence

• Beforehand: (antes de algo,beforehand)
• Afterwards: (despues de algo,afterwards)

Emotions and Feelings

• Relaxed/Thanked God: relieved
• Being nervous/Concerned: have butterflies in your tummy

Livelihood and Relationships

• Make a living/Earn a living: so means of support (ganarse la vida-make a living,earn a living,so means of support)
• Be dating/Going out: (be dating-going out)
• Homosexual/Gay: (homosexual-gay)
• Heterosexual/Straight: (heterosexual-

Types of Talk Shows

There are five primary types of talk shows:

• Dissenting Group (grupo en desacuerdo)
• Press Conference (conferencia de prensa)
• Team Group (equipo)
• Audience Discussion
• Running Analysis (análisis del tema actual)

Key Responsibilities of a Talk Show Presenter

A talk show presenter plays a crucial role in managing the flow and content of the program. Their responsibilities include:

• Controlling discipline and maintaining order.
• Preventing undue dominance by any single participant.
• Steering discussion back to the main subject and keeping it aligned with prescribed lines.
• Being prepared to rescue segments, improvise when necessary, and stall for time.
• Anticipating potential problems and using controlled initiative to resolve them.

Evolution of

Attractions: atracción

München: Germany

DISABLED TOILETS: minusválidos de baños

tourist Information Centre: centro de información turística

DEN HAAG: The Hague the Netherlands.

SEAFRONT: paseo marítimo.

website: pagina web

GENEVA: Switzerland(ZUISA)

SAND: acantilado.

Display rack: expositor, exhibidor.

Lisboa. Portugal.

RIGHT HAND: el de la mano derecha.

Call centre: servicio telefónico de atención

WARSZAWA: Warsaw (VARSOVIA) (Poland)

BEHAVING: comportarse

Dental Appointment: pedir cita con el dentista.

København: Copenhagen (Denmark)

SWEDE: sueco

DISPLAYS: monitor

FIRENZE: Florence (Italy)

FINN: Finlandés
DANE: Danes

TIMETABLES: horario, planificar.

STAINED GLASS WINDOWS: Vidrieras

PRAGA: Prague (Czech Republic)

TOWER: Torre

BARBECUE: BARBACOA

FIREWORKS:

Relative Clauses

Types of Relative Clauses

Specifying Relative Clauses

These clauses provide essential information and are not separated by commas. They identify the specific noun or pronoun being referred to. Without the relative clause, the sentence would be incomplete and lack clarity.

Example:

Incorrect: I don't like stories. They have unhappy endings.

Correct: I don't like stories which have unhappy endings.

Explanatory Relative Clauses

These clauses provide additional information that is not essential to the meaning of the sentence. They are set off by commas or a comma and a full stop. They never use the relative pronoun "that."

Example:

Incorrect: Mrs. Morgan is an English teacher. His son is in our class.

Correct: Mrs. Morgan, whose son is in

Common English Idioms & Expressions

• Hair-raising: escalofriante, aterrador (terrifying, frightening)
• Spine-chilling: escalofriante (terrifying, frightening)
• To face up to something: hacer frente a algo (to confront something)
• Hard to stomach: difícil de digerir, difícil de aceptar (difficult to accept/tolerate)
• Turn your back on something: dar la espalda a algo (to abandon or ignore something)
• Thin-skinned: sensible, susceptible (easily offended)
• Pain in the neck: un incordio, un fastidio (an annoying person or thing)
• Makes my blood boil: me hierve la sangre (makes me very angry)
• Get butterflies in my stomach: tener mariposas en el estómago (to feel nervous or excited)

Emotional & Situational Idioms

• Down in the dumps: estar deprimido (feeling

Present Simple Affirmative

I, you, we, you, they walk. He, she, it walks.

Present Simple Negative

I, you, we, you, they don't walk. He, she, it doesn't walk.

Present Simple Interrogative

Do I, you, we, you, they walk? Does he, she, it walk?

Present Simple Affirmative (Response)

Yes, I, you, we, you, they do. Yes, he, she, it does.

Present Simple Negative (Response)

No, I, you, we, you, they don't. No, he, she, it doesn't. (Add 'es' when the verb ends in 'ss', 'sh', 'ch', 'x', or when it ends in a consonant plus 'y', change 'y' to 'ies'. Used for daily routines.)

Present Continuous Affirmative

I, you, we, you, they are looking. He, she, it is looking.

Present Continuous Negative and Interrogative

Same as above, adding 'not' for negative and '?' for interrogative.... Continue reading "Present Simple and Present Continuous Tenses" »

E-commerce Gaining Traction

For a country such as Spain, where e-commerce is not as widespread as it is in the United Kingdom or France, it comes as proof that this alternative is beginning to take hold. In London or Paris, for example, an increase of 30% in online shopping is expected with respect to last year.

Online Toy Sales Surge

In the case of toys, the online channel is safe and curiosity-proof. Toy sales through this channel increased by 60% last year and it is expected that this year they will continue to rise. Deloitte's Christmas thermometer confirms this tendency: 25% of the sales budget during these dates will be spent through online channels, which is 10% more than last year.

Advantages of Online Shopping

There is a series of factors... Continue reading "The Rise of E-commerce in Spain" »

Essential English Vocabulary

Topic 1: Clothing & Accessories

Bracelet, cardigan, earrings, flip-flops, hair band, high heels, leggings, make-up, necklace, ring, sandals, sunglasses, tracksuit bottoms, tracksuit top, trainers, watch.

Topic 2: Places & Adjectives

Block of flats, bridge, building, car park, cottage, factory, farm, field, hill, housing estate, lake, motorway, pavement, river, village, wood.

Funny - hilarious / sad - miserable / hungry - starving / bad - awful / interesting - fascinating / frightening - terrifying / small - tiny / surprised - astonished / ugly - hideous.

Topic 3: Everyday Items

Bedroom, waiting room, credit card, Christmas card, desktop, laptop, headache, headphones, sun cream, sunglasses, wedding dress, wedding... Continue reading "Essential English Vocabulary: Expand Your Word Power" »

First of all. From my point of view. To begin with. That's why. Anyhow(de todas formas) Anyway (de cualquier manera) Meanwhile. Until then (hasta entonces) In short (en resumen) To sum up. After all (al fin y al cabo) All of sudden(de repente) As I pointed in (segun quedo indicado en) As far as i know (que yo sepa) It is strange that (es raro que) It just so happened that (da la casualidad que) it turns our that (resulta que) the way i see it( a mi modo de ver)

Environmental Vocabulary

• BAN: prohibir
• BRING BACK TO LIFE: devolver a la vida
• CAUSE: causar
• DESTRUCTION: destrucción
• DRILLING: extracción/explotación
• EXPOSE: exponer
• FOSSIL FUEL: combustible fósil
• GLOBAL WARMING: calentamiento global
• LANDSCAPE: paisaje
• OIL SPILL: fuga de petróleo
• RAISE MONEY: recaudar dinero
• RENEWABLE ENERGY: energía renovable
• RESTORE: restaurar
• SOURCE: origen/fuente
• TAKE ACTION: tomar medidas
• THREAT: amenaza
• WILDLIFE: flora/fauna

Grammar Vocabulary

• ACCOMPLISHMENT: logro
• DECLINE: disminución
• DEVELOPMENT: avance
• FREEDOM: libertad
• GOVERNMENT: gobernar
• KNOWLEDGE: conocimientos
• LAST: durar
• LEAD TO: llevar a
• LONG BEFORE: mucho antes de
• MAJOR: muy importante
• PLAY A ROLE: desempeñar un papel
• TAKE CONTROL: hacerse con el control
• TAKE PLACE: tener lugar
• TRADE: