I am not a teacher Yo no soy profesor/a.subject verb not object
He is not busy. Él no está ocupado.
You are not a doctor. Tú no eres médico.
Aren’t you a teacher? ¿No eres profesor/a?verb + not subject object
Isn’t he busy? ¿No está él ocupado?
Aren’t you a doctor? ¿No eres tú médico?
When we ask negative questions we usually make a contraction: isn’t, aren’t, but with the first person we say “Am I not ...?”.
Verb Meaning
I am working. Estoy trabajando.
You are working. Tú/ usted está trabajando.
He is working. Él está trabajando.
She is working. Ella está trabajando.
It is working. Está funcionando.
You are working. Vosotros/as estáis trabajando - Ustedes están trabajando.
We are working. Nosotros/as estamos trabajando.
They are working. Ellos/as están trabajando.
Watch some videos about the Present Continuous.
He is watching TV Él está viendo la televisión.subject verb verb -ing object
They are having lunch. Ellos están comiendo.
I’m waiting for my son. Estoy esperando a mi hijo.
How to make negative sentences How to ask negative questions Structure: Structure: Subject + am/ is/ are + not + object Am/ Is/ Are + not + subject + object?
® Countable nouns can take either singular or plural forms, but uncountable nouns can only take singular forms although sometimes they may be pluralized when used in a countable sense.
For example:Paper (uncountable) – I like to use only recycled paper. Me gusta utilizar solo papel reciclado.Papers (countable) – They have to hand in their papers by Friday. Ellos tienen que entregar sus trabajos escritos el viernes.
® As uncountable nouns they cannot be counted; therefore you cannot say: A/An + uncountable noun.
For example: You cannot say: I’m going to give you an advice. Te voy a dar un consejo.You have to say: I’m going to give you some advice. Te voy a dar algunos consejos.You can also say: I’m going to give you a piece of advice. Te voy a dar un consejo.
® It is possible to make uncountable nouns countable if we add other words to the uncountable word. Examples of these types of words are: a piece of, an item, a bottle, a grain, etc.For example:
Milk (uncountable): leche. A bottle of milk: Una botella de leche.
® There are some uncountable nouns that are especially troublesome for Spanish speakers because in Spanish these nouns are countable. Here are some examples:
Advice (consejo) – A piece of advice. Un consejo.News (noticias) – A piece of news. Una noticia.Bread (pan) – A loaf of bread, a piece of bread. Un trozo de pan.Furniture (mueble) – A piece of furniture. Un mueble.Information (información) – A piece of information. Una información.
Nouns Phonetics Meaning Example
Advice /əd'vaɪs/ consejo They gave me some good advice. Me dieron buenos consejos.
Information /'ɪnfər'meɪʃən/ información He didn’t have any information. Él no tenía ninguna información.
News /nu:z/ noticias I have good news. Tengo buenas noticias.
Furniture /'fɜ:rnɪtʃər / muebles That’s a nice piece of furniture. Ese es un mueble bonito.
Milk /mɪlk/ leche I would like to have some milk. Quiero tomar leche.
Water /'wɔ:tər / agua There is no water. No hay agua.
Rice /raɪs/ arroz People in China eat lots of rice. La gente en China come mucho arroz.
Money /'mʌni/ dinero She is going to need some money. Ella va a necesitar (algo de) dinero.
Sugar /'ʃʊgər/ azúcar Would you like some sugar? ¿Quieres azúcar?
Wine /waɪn/ vino I would like to have a glass of wine. Quiero una copa de vino.
Concept: Uncountable nouns are nouns that cannot be counted because they cannot be divided. Typical examples are liquids such as milk, water, beer or wine, or food such as bread, meat or rice.
Both words can be used with countable and uncoun-table nouns.
Examples:
There are some pencils on the floor. (Countable) Hay unos lápices en el suelo.There is some milk on the counter. (Uncountable) Hay leche en la encimera.Did you have any water? (Uncountable) ¿Tomaste agua?Did you have any coins? (Countable) ¿Tenías monedas?
Much, Many
Much can only be used with uncountable nouns.
Example:
How much money do you have? ¿Cuánto dinero tienes?
Many can only be used with countable nouns.
Example:
How many people are coming? ¿Cuánta gente viene?
A lot of, Lots of
Both words can be used to replace much or many.
Example:
She drank a lot of wine. (Uncountable) Ella bebió mucho vino. Lots of ideas are not taken into account. (Countable) Muchas ideas no son tenidas en cuenta.
Test
Little, Few
Little can only be used with uncountable nouns.
Example:
They had little information (Uncountable). Ellos tenían poca información.
Few can only be used with countable nouns.
Example:
She had very few apples in the basket. Ella tenía pocas manzanas en la cesta.
Listen to the audio file with uncountable nouns in context and in Spanish and in English.
My name is Lisa Cox. I was born in New Haven, Connecticut, but I am now living in London with my husband and three children. I work as a sales manager for an American multi-national company.
I’m currently looking for a new job because I want to start working part-time to be able to spend more time at home with my family, but it’s not easy these days with so much unemployment.
We are in the middle of winter and I’m working from home today. I am also preparing a meal using a pressure cooker. It’s a wonderful solution when you don’t have a lot of time. I am making a stew. My children are now at school and my husband is working in the city. He is English and works as a bank manager.
My mother is staying with us at the moment. Fortunately, she always takes the children to the park when they come back home from school! My mother is still quite young so she can keep them busy for hours on end. If it’s raining they always start digging in the dirt and they make dirt brownies.
When they are back home, she always cleans their shoes and clothes. It’s now midday and I’m eating a slice of pizza hoping not to fall asleep midway through eating. I’m counting the days to our next holiday. We are planning to fly to the States and spend Christmas and New Year with my family in Florida.
Fortunately, I’m not travelling this week. My youngest daughter, Elizabeth, is not feeling too well. I think she just has a mild cold, but I wouldn’t like to be away if she gets worse. I’m not unhappy with my life. I have a nice family, live in beautiful house, but I would certainly like to work less hours.
My hectic life
Vocabulary
Sales manager (n.): director comercial.Be able to (v.): poder, ser capaz de.Unemployment (n.): desempleo.Pressure cooker (n.): olla a presión.Stew (n.): guiso.Keep them busy (v.): mantenerlos ocupados.Hours on end (n.): por largo tiempo.Digging (v.): cavando.Dig: cavar.Dirt (n.): tierra.Be back (v.): volver.Fall asleep midway (v.): quedarse dormido/a/ en medio de.Be away (v.): estar fuera, ausentarse.Get worse (v.): empeorar.
Watch a conversation between two people using the Present Continuous.
Listen to the conversation between two friends on the phone then answer the questions.
Answer the questions below. After listening once:
1. What are the two women planning?A. Shopping.B. Dancing.C. Eating.
Answer the questions below. After listening twice:
1. How much does the club normally cost?A. £10.B. £20.C. £30.
2. Where is Sophie travelling to for her work?A. Bond Street.B. A bar.C. Mexico.
3. What day are Sophie and Jane meeting?A. Saturday.B. Friday.C. Sunday.
Answer the questions below. After listening three times:
1. Who has started a new job?A. Sophie.B. Jane.C. Jane’s friend.
2. How much are the women paying to get into the club? A. £0.B. £10. C. £20.
3. What time are they meeting?A. 10 p.m.B. 11 p.m.C. 12 p.m.
4. Why is Sophie going to Mexico?A. To meet a friend.B. On holiday.C. To meet clients.
Listening
Listening quiz on the Present Continuous
1. Why is Lisa looking for a new job?A. Because she is worried about unemployment.B. Because she wants to have more time with her family.C. Because she doesn’t like her job.
2. What nationality are her children?A. American.B. English.C. Half American and half English.
3. What time of year is it?A. Spring.B. Autumn.C. Winter.
4. What are the benefits of a pressure cooker?A. It’s clean.B. It’s quick.C. It’s quiet.
5. How many of Lisa’s children have left home?A. 0.B. 1.C. 2.
6. Who looks after the children after school?A. Their mother.B. Their aunt.C. Their grandmother.
7. Where is Lisa originally from?A. Florida.B. London.C. Connecticut.
8. Where does Lisa want to go on holiday?A. USA.B. EU.C. UK.
9. Why is Lisa happy that they are not travelling this week?A. Because she is tired.B. Because she has a lot of work.C. Because her daughter is unwell.
10. How does Lisa feel about her life?A. Very unhappy.B. Happy.C. Bored.
I am contacting you in reference to a possible blog posting on our blog: http://elblogdelingles.blogspot.com/. We try to help Spanish speakers learn English and are constantly adding new posts with information about grammar and vocabulary.
I have written a post about false friends between English and Spanish, as you will see in the attachment, using vocabulary from the yourdictionary.com. However, we are a little worried about whether we can actually post it or not and so would like to know if we need your permission to do so.
I look forward to receiving your reply,
Yours faithfully, Carla Simpson
Vocabulary
Blog posting (v.): escribir un artículo para un blog.Adding ( v.): añadiendo.False friends (n.): palabras que se parecen en español e inglés, pero su significado es diferente en ambos idiomas.Add (v.): añadir.Attachment (n.): documento adjunto.Whether (conj.): si.Post it (v.): publicarlo.Look forward to receiving your reply: Espero recibir su contestación.
Tips for writing a formal email
® Subject: Short and to the point.
® Start with “Dear Sirs,” or “Dear Mr/Ms/Mrs Smith”.
® Explain why you are contacting them.
® Write short paragraphs.
® Copy examples of sentences from native English speakers; don’t make up your own sentences.
® Check your own sentences pasting them onto Google and seeing if they appear on native’s websites. You can also use www.linguee.es to check your sentences.
® In British English, say good-bye with “Yours faithfully” if you start with “Dear Sir or Madam” and “Yours sincerely” if you start with Dear Mr/Mrs/Ms/ Miss Smith.
Thank you for your email enquiry regarding the posting of an extract from one of our publications into your blog.
Yourdictionary.com has no objections to a short extract (less than 500 words) from one of our publications appearing in a blog, on the understanding it is not treated in a derogatory manner, that the extract is quoted verbatim (no changes to be made) and that you clearly acknowledge the source of the material.
However, should you wish to include larger extracts then that would be subject to clearing permission with Yourdictionary.com prior to posting.
Yours sincerely
Karen JacksonPermissions Manager, Legal ServiceCanterbury Road, 222Yourdictionary.comBC2 5RU, United Kingdomwww.yourdictionary.com
Now you write
Instructions
You are the Permission Manager at yourdictionary.com and you have to write an email to Carla Simpson thanking her for her email and saying that you have:
® No objections to a short extract (less than 500 words).
® The text should not be treated in a derogatory manner.
® No changes can be made.
® She must acknowledge the source.
Compare your text to this example:
Vocabulary
To treat (v.): tratar.Acknowledge the source (n.): dar a conocer la fuente.
