Unit 1. What are you doing now?

Grammar Vocabulary Reading Listening Writing

Present Simple tense verb to be The Present Continuous Test

Uncountable nouns Test

My hectic life Reading comprehension

Listening quiz on the Present Continuous

Read this email Now you write

Grammar
Present Simple tense verb to be
Verb I am You are He is She is It is You are We are They are Contractions Im Youre Hes Shes Its Youre Were Theyre Meaning Yo soy/ estoy T eres/ests - Usted es/est l es/est Ella es/est El/ella/ello (para cosas) es/est Vosotros/as sois/estis - Ustedes son/estn Nosotros/as somos/estamos Ellos/as son/estn

How to make affirmative sentences

Structure: Subject + am/ is /are + object

How to ask questions

Structure:

Am/ Is /Are + subject + object?

Examples: I subject He is busy. You are a doctor. am verb a teacher object Yo soy profesor/a. Am verb Is he busy? Are you a doctor? I subject a teacher? object Soy yo profesor/a?

l est ocupado. T eres mdico.

Est l ocupado? Eres t mdico?

How to answer questions

Structure: Yes, + subject + am/ is/ are No, + subject + am/ is/ are + not Examples: Yes, I am -/not No, Im not. Yes, they are. No, we arent.

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Yes/No subject am/ is/ are

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How to make negative sentences

How to ask negative questions

Structure: Structure: Subject + am/ is/ are + not + object Am/ Is/ Are + not + subject + object? Examples: I subject am verb not not a teacher object Yo no soy profesor/a. Examples: Arent verb + not Isnt he busy? Arent you a doctor? you subject a teacher? object No eres profesor/a?

He is not busy. You are not a doctor.

l no est ocupado. T no eres mdico.

No est l ocupado? No eres t mdico?

When we ask negative questions we usually make a contraction: isnt, arent, but with the first person we say Am I not ...?.

The Present Continuous

Verb I am working. You are working. He is working. She is working. It is working. You are working. We are working. They are working. Meaning Estoy trabajando. T/ usted est trabajando. l est trabajando. Ella est trabajando. Est funcionando. Vosotros/as estis trabajando - Ustedes estn trabajando. Nosotros/as estamos trabajando. Ellos/as estn trabajando.

Watch some videos about the Present Continuous.

How to make affirmative sentences

Structure:

Subject + am/ is/ are + main verb ing + object Examples: He is subject verb watching verb -ing TV object l est viendo la televisin.

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They are having lunch. Im waiting for my son.

Ellos estn comiendo. Estoy esperando a mi hijo.

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How to ask questions

Structure: Am/ Is/ Are + subject + main verb ing + object?

Examples: Is verb he subject watching verb -ing TV? object l est viendo la televisin?

Are they having lunch?

Estn ellos comiendo?

Are you waiting for your son? Ests esperando a tu hijo?

How to answer questions

Structure: Yes, + subject + am /is/ are No, + subject + am/is/ are + not Examples: Yes, I am -/not No, Im not. Yes, they are. No, we arent.

Yes/No subject am/ is/ are

How to make negative statements

Structure: Subject + am/ is/ are + not + verb-ing + object

Examples: I subject am verb not not

listening to verb -ing the radio object

No estoy escuchando la radio.

They arent having lunch. You arent waiting for your son.

Ellos no estn comiendo. No ests esperando a tu hijo.

How to ask negative questions

Structure: Am/ Is/ Are + not + subject + verb-ing?

Examples: Arent verb + not Isnt he watching TV? Arent they having lunch? you subject teaching? verb -ing No ests enseando?

No est l viendo la television? No estn comiendo?

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The Present Continuous is used for:

An activity happening at the present moment:
Sorry, I cant go there now, Im working.

Test
1. I am looking forward to you soon. A. see. B. seeing. C. knowing. D. know. 2. My husband is always his keys. A. forget. B. miss. C. missing. D. forgetting. 3. I after her house this summer while she is on holiday. A. am watching. B. am seeing. C. am looking. D. am sitting. 4. The company five people in June. A. are employing. B. is employing. C. hires. D. employs. 5. At the moment I for a new job. A. am looking. B. look. C. am watching. D. watch. 6. I am TV as I cook dinner. A. following. B. seeing. C. viewing. D. watching. 7. What you always losing? A. is. B. am. C. are. D. do. 8. When he next going on holiday? A. is. B. am. C. are. D. do. 9. I am studying for an exam. A. Always. B. Sometimes. C. Yesterday. D. At the moment. 10. I study for exams. A. always. B. this morning. C. right now. D. today.

Lo siento, no puedo ir all ahora, estoy trabajando. An activity in progress but not exactly at the present moment:
They want to improve their English, so theyre reading many books in English.

Quieren mejorar su ingls, por ello estn leyendo muchos libros en ingls. A non-permanent situation:
Shes watering the plants while he is away.

Ella est regando sus plantas mientras l est fuera. A situation which is changing or starting to take place:
House prices are starting to fall in Britain.

Los precios de las casas estn empezando a bajar en Gran Bretaa. Things the speaker finds strange or annoying, with use of always:
You are always finding excuses not to do your homework. Youre going to fail your exams!

Siempre ests encontrando excusas para no hacer los deberes. Vas a suspender los exmenes! Things that are always happening, with use of always:
Marks father is always fixing things, he loves it!

El padre de Mark siempre est arreglando cosas, le encanta!

IMPORTANT: In Spanish we can talk about activities happening at the present moment with the present tense. For example, we can say: Qu haces? In English, we normally use the Present Continuous, not the Present Simple tense in this case. Correct: What are you doing? Incorrect: What do you do?

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Vocabulary
Uncountable nouns
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.

It is important to remember that: 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: Im going to give you an advice. Te voy a dar un consejo. You have to say: Im going to give you some advice. Te voy a dar algunos consejos. You can also say: Im 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 (informacin) A piece of information. Una informacin.

List of uncountable nouns

Nouns
Advice

Phonetics
/d'vas/

Meaning consejo

Example
They gave me some good advice.

Me dieron buenos consejos. l no tena ninguna informacin. Tengo buenas noticias. Ese es un mueble bonito. Quiero tomar leche. No hay agua. La gente en China come mucho arroz. Ella va a necesitar (algo de) dinero. Quieres azcar?

Information /'nfr'men/ informacin He didnt have any information. News Furniture Milk Water Rice Money Sugar Wine
/nu:z/ /'f:rntr / /mlk/ /'w:tr / /ras/ /'mni/ /'gr/ /wan/

noticias muebles leche agua arroz dinero azcar vino

I have good news. Thats a nice piece of furniture. I would like to have some milk. There is no water. People in China eat lots of rice.
She is going to need some money.

Would you like some sugar?

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I would like to have a glass of wine. Quiero una copa de vino.

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Some, Any
Both words can be used with countable and uncountable nouns. Examples:
There are some pencils on the floor. (Countable) Hay unos lpices 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) Tenas monedas?

Much, Many
Much can only be used with uncountable nouns. Example:
How much money do you have? Cunto dinero tienes?

Many can only be used with countable nouns. Example:

How many people are coming? Cunta gente viene?

Little, Few
Little can only be used with uncountable nouns. Example:
They had little information (Uncountable). Ellos tenan poca informacin.

A lot of, Lots of

Both words can be used to replace much or many. Example:
She drank a lot of wine. (Uncountable) Ella bebi mucho vino. Lots of ideas are not taken into account. (Countable) Muchas ideas no son tenidas en cuenta.

Few can only be used with countable nouns. Example:

She had very few apples in the basket. Ella tena pocas manzanas en la cesta.

Listen to the audio file with uncountable nouns in context and in Spanish and in English.

Test
Match the two parts of the sentences.
1. Pass me a sheet of 2. How much 3. Do we have any 4. I like a drop of 5. How many 6. Im tired, I need some 7. This translation has a lot of 8. To do this well I need plenty of 9. Due to a lack of 10. Please pass me a slice of A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. I. J. coffee left? paper rest time milk in my coffee mistakes coins do you have? sugar do you want in your tea? cake confidence I failed my driving test

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Reading
My hectic life
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. Im 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 its not easy these days with so much unemployment. We are in the middle of winter and Im working from home today. I am also preparing a meal using a pressure cooker. Its a wonderful solution when you dont 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 its 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. Its now midday and Im eating a slice of pizza hoping not to fall asleep midway through eating. Im 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, Im not travelling this week. My youngest daughter, Elizabeth, is not feeling too well. I think she just has a mild cold, but I wouldnt like to be away if she gets worse. Im not unhappy with my life. I have a nice family, live in beautiful house, but I would certainly like to work less hours.

Vocabulary
Sales manager (n.): director comercial. Be able to (v.): poder, ser capaz de. Unemployment (n.): desempleo. Pressure cooker (n.): olla a presin. 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.

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Reading comprehension
After reading the text answer the questions.
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 doesnt 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. Its clean. B. Its quick. C. Its quiet. 5. How many of Lisas 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.

Listening
Listening quiz on 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 three times:

1. Who has started a new job? A. Sophie. B. Jane. C. Janes 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.

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.

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Watch a conversation between two people using the Present Continuous.

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Writing
Read this email
From: Carla Simpson <[email protected]> To: editorialenglish@com Date: 13/10/2010 17:48 Subject: Permission enquiry Dear Sirs, 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 artculo para un blog. Adding ( v.): aadiendo. False friends (n.): palabras que se parecen en espaol e ingls, pero su significado es diferente en ambos idiomas. Add (v.): aadir. Attachment (n.): documento adjunto. Whether (conj.): si. Post it (v.): publicarlo. Look forward to receiving your reply: Espero recibir su contestacin.

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; dont make up your own sentences. Check your own sentences pasting them onto Google and seeing if they appear on natives 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.

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Watch a video about how to write a formal e-mail.

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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:

Dear Carla, 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 Jackson Permissions Manager, Legal Service Canterbury Road, 222 Yourdictionary.comBC2 5RU, United Kingdom www.yourdictionary.com

Vocabulary 24
To treat (v.): tratar. Acknowledge the source (n.): dar a conocer la fuente.

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