Hello!

How’s it going?

Today I want you to read a short text about music and the seasons to practice your reading skills. You can find definitions of the words in bold
under the text.

There’s always a song suited to every season. When it’s summer or spring, we normally listen to upbeat happy songs. When it’s autumn or
winter, we normally listen to calm relaxing music.

Whatever the season, we like to listen to nice catchy songs because they change our mood. No matter how bad, lonely or hard times are, music
seems to do magic and helps us think and feel that at the end of the day, there’s always something good we need to be thankful for.

Vocabulary

suited: apropiado para

For example: I think the other applicant is better suited to the job.
Creo que el otro candidato es más apto para este trabajo.

season: estación (del año)

For example: My favourite season is summer.

Mi estación preferida es el verano.

summer: verano

For example: We always go to the beach in the summer.

Siempre vamos a la playa en verano.

spring: primavera

For example: In spring, the flowers start to bloom.

En primavera las flores comienzan a florecer.

autumn: otoño

For example: Leaves change colour in autumn.

En otoño las hojas cambian de color.

winter: invierno

For example: Winter is my worst season. I hate the cold!

El invierno es la peor estación. ¡Odio el frío!

upbeat: alegre, optimista

For example: She looked upbeat even though she was tired.
Tenía aspecto alegre aunque estuviera cansada.

catchy: pegadizo

For example: Lady Gaga’s songs are always catchy.

Las canciones de Lady Gaga siempre son pegadizas.

mood: humor

For example: He’s always in a bad mood on Monday mornings.

Siempre está de mal humor los lunes por la mañana.

to seem: parecer

For example: You seem happy today.

Pareces feliz hoy.

I hope you’re upbeat about studying English today whatever the season is where you are.
Have a great day!
Best regards,

Good day Christian!

I hope everything’s well with you and that you’re having a wonderful day!

Every Friday you will receive a message from me, your teacher, with something to improve your English!
¡Cada viernes recibirás un mensaje mío con algo para mejorar tu inglés!

Today we’re going to look at homophones. These are words which have the same pronunciation (sound) but different meanings and spelling.
Hoy vamos a estudiar unas palabras homófonas, es decir, palabras que se pronuncian igual pero que tienen significados distintos y se escriben
de forma distinta.

Let’s start with some very basic ones: “I” and “eye”.

“I” is the first person singular subject pronoun.

For example,

I live in Barcelona.
(Yo) vivo en Barcelona.

We use our eyes to see.

For example,

I like your eye colour.

Me gusta el color de tus ojos.

Let’s take a look at some more words and try to remember them to avoid confusion.

“ate” is the past simple form of the verb “to eat”.

Here is an example with “ate”:

We ate pizza for dinner last night.

Anoche cenamos pizza.

“ate” is pronounced in the same way as “eight” (8).

Here’s an example with the word “eight”:

I have eight cousins.

Tengo ocho primos.

“it’s” is the contraction of “it is” and “it has”.

It’s (=It is) sunny today.

Hace sol hoy.

It’s (=It has) been sunny all week.

Ha hecho sol toda la semana.

“its” is a possessive pronoun.

The dog ate its food.

El perro comió su comida.

“to hear” is a verb which means “to perceive sound by the ear” while “here” is an adverb of place meaning “in or towards this place”.

Look at an example of each word:

I cannot hear you. Please speak louder.

No te oigo. Habla más fuerte, por favor.
Come here please!
¡Ven aquí, por favor!

Try to remember these simple words and it will help you speak and write in English better!
¡Intenta acordarte de estas palabras sencillas y eso te ayudará a hablar y escribir mejor en inglés!

Have a nice day!

Best regards,

Hello!

How r u?

In today’s modern world, there are many ways to communicate with our family and friends using modern technology, for example, different
applications on our mobile phones. One means of communication is sending an SMS (short messaging service), also known as “a text message”.
Often, when we send text messages, we tend to abbreviate words and don’t pay much attention to spelling.
En el mundo moderno, hay muchas formas de comunicarse con la familia y los amigos con la tecnología moderna, por ejemplo con varias
aplicaciones móviles. Una forma son los SMS, también conocidos como “mensajes de texto”. Muchas veces, a la hora de enviar SMS, abreviamos
las palabras y no prestamos atención a la ortografía.

In the first part of this message, you read the question “How r u?” That’s normally how we send someone a text message to ask them “How are
you?” (¿Qué tal?)

However, in formal and proper English, spelling is very important (which is why we have writing exercises in the ABA course).

If you miss out a letter, it can make a huge difference to the meaning of a word.
Si omites una letra por error, puede afectar mucho al significado.

Look at the following words:

seem see

They don’t seem very friendly. I can’t see you.

No parecen muy simpáticos. No te veo.

wine win

I would like to order a bottle of red wine, please. They need to win the match to make it to the final.
Me gustaría pedir una botella de vino tinto. Necesitan ganar el partido para llegar a la final.

bare bar

He has just moved into his new flat and it’s still bare. After work, she sometimes goes to a bar.
Acaba de cambiar de piso y su nuevo piso sigue vacío. Después del trabajo, a veces va a un bar.

huge hug

We were very hungry so we ate a huge portion of cake. When you’re sad, you need a hug from your best friend.
Teníamos mucha hambre así que comimos un trozo enorme del pastel. Cuando se está triste, se necesita un abrazo de su mejor amigo/a.
teen ten

She met her husband when she was a teen. They’ve been married for ten years now.
Conoció a su marido cuando era adolescente. Llevan casados diez años.

To make yourself clearly understood in English, make sure you spell words correctly and that you don’t miss out letters.

Have a good day!

Best regards,

Hello!

I hope all’s well with you.

I’m a very indecisive person and today I’m going to teach you how to express possibility in English

Let’s start with the modal verbs “may” and “might”.

The modal verb “may” indicates possibility.

For example,

I may have pizza for dinner tonight.

Es posible que cene pizza esta noche.

It may rain this weekend.

Puede que llueva este fin de semana.

Here you can use the modal verb “might” instead of “may” and say:

I might have pizza for dinner tonight.

It might rain this weekend.

Here “may” is slightly more formal than “might”.

En estas frases, “may” es un poco más formal que “might”.

We sometimes use the adverbs “maybe” and “perhaps” to express possibility. “Perhaps” is more formal than “maybe”.

When referring to possible future events like the ones in the examples above, we use these adverbs followed by the future with “will”.
Cuando hablamos de posibles eventos futuros como los de los ejemplos de arriba, estos adverbios van seguidos del futuro con “will”.

Look…

Perhaps I will have pizza for dinner tonight.

or
Maybe I will have pizza for dinner tonight.
Quizás cene pizza esta noche.

Perhaps it will rain this weekend.

or
Maybe it will rain this weekend.
Quizás llueva este fin de semana.

Hopefully it won’t rain this weekend!

¡Espero que no llueva este fin de semana!

Now, watch the ABA Film 49 and see how Andrew helps Emily learn the modal verbs!
Put your headset on!

Have a lovely weekend.

Best wishes,
Hello!

I hope you’re well.

Today we’re going to look at the modal verbs “must” and “mustn’t”.

As you probably already know, “must” expresses obligation and “mustn’t” expresses prohibition.

Look at some rules you might find on a piece of paper on the wall in a classroom where people are studying English.
Mira unas reglas que se podrían encontrar en la pared de un aula donde se estudia inglés.

You must listen to the teacher.

Debes escuchar al profesor.

You must do your homework.

Debes hacer los deberes.

You must try to speak in English at all times.

Debes intentar hablar en inglés en todo momento.

You must follow the teacher’s instructions.

Debes seguir las instrucciones del profesor.

You mustn’t chew gum.

No debes masticar chicle.

You mustn’t shout.

No debes gritar.

You mustn’t speak when the teacher is speaking.

No debes hablar cuando está hablando el profesor.

You mustn’t run in the classroom.

No debes correr por el aula.

The most important rule when studying English in a classroom is “You must try to speak in English at all times”!

A good rule for online students is “You must try to write to your teacher in English at all times” ;)
Una buena regla para los estudiantes que realizáis cursos online de inglés es “Debes intentar escribir a tu profesor en inglés en todo momento” ;)

Remember the above rule next time you write to your teacher :)
Recuerda la regla de arriba la próxima vez que escribas a tu profesor :)

Have a lovely weekend.

Take care,

Hello!

I hope you've had a good week.

Today we are going to look at some more homophones, i.e. words that are spelt differently and have different meanings but sound the same.
Hoy vamos a estudiar más homófonos, es decir, palabras que se escriben diferente y tienen significados diferentes pero suenan igual.

Let's start with the words "flower" and "flour".

a flower (countable): una flor

For example,
Last week I received a beautiful bunch of flowers from a friend.
La semana pasada recibí un precioso ramo de flores de un amigo.
flour (uncountable): harina

For example,
I need to buy a bag of flour before I make the biscuits.
Necesito comprar un paquete de harina antes de hacer las galletas.

Another couple of words which are spelt differently, have different meanings but sound the same are "allowed" and "aloud".

allowed is the past simple and past participle form of the verb "to allow". "To allow someone to do something" is "dejar o permitir a alguien
hacer algo" in Spanish.

Here are two examples with "allowed". In the first one "allowed" is the past simple form and in the second one it is a past participle in a passive
structure.

His parents never allowed him to play in the streets when he was a kid.
Sus padres nunca le dejaban jugar en la calle cuando era pequeño.

You are not allowed to smoke in here.

No está permitido fumar aquí.

When you say or read something aloud, you speak so that others can hear you. A synonym of "aloud" is "out loud".

For example,
Stand in front of the rest of the class and read your poem aloud.
Ponte delante de la clase y lee tu poema en voz alta.

Now let's look at some more homophones: "pear" and "pair".

a pear: una pera

a pair: un par

Look at a couple of examples:

I ate an apple, a pear and an orange yesterday.

Ayer comí una manzana, una pera y una naranja.

Last Saturday I bought a new pair of shoes.

El sábado pasado compré un nuevo par de zapatos.

Find another example of homonyms and lots of other confusing words in English on our blog.

Have a great weekend.

All the best,

Véamos los phrasal verbs:

Los phrasal verbs son verbos seguidos de una preposición que le da al verbo un significado diferente del que normalmente tiene. Por ejemplo:

- ask preguntar
- ask for pedir
- look mirar
- look for buscar

Hay dos tipos de phrasal verbs

a) aquellos formados por dos palabras que no se pueden separar:

Can you look after the children?

¿Puedes cuidar a los niños?

b) aquellos formados por dos palabras que sí se pueden separar:

Can you look up his number in my diary?

Can you look his number up in my diary?
¿Puedes buscar su número en mi agenda?

Hello!

I hope your week has gone smoothly.

This week everything has happened as usual for me.

Have a look at my daily routine:

I always start my day with a cup of coffee but I rarely eat breakfast at home. I usually go to work by subway but I sometimes take the bus. I
often watch TV in the evening but I hardly ever go to the cinema during the week. I never go to bed before 10 p.m.
Siempre empiezo el día con una taza de café pero rara vez desayuno en casa. Normalmente voy al trabajo en metro pero a veces voy en
autobús. A menudo veo la tele por la noche pero casi nunca voy al cine entre semana. Nunca me acuesto antes de las 10 de la noche.

In the text above, adverbs of frequency were used. Adverbs of frequency are used to state how often we do something.

To understand adverbs of frequency better, look at the following chart:

100% 0%
usually/ occasionally/
always often sometimes hardly ever never
normally rarely

Note that adverbs of frequency usually go between the subject and the verb. For example:

He never drinks beer.

Nunca bebe cerveza.

They usually have cereal for breakfast.

Normalmente desayunan cereales.

You always wake up early.

Siempre te levantas temprano.

However, adverbs of frequency go after the verb "to be". Here are some examples:

She is hardly ever happy.

Ella casi nunca está feliz.

We are often tired.

A menudo estamos cansados.

Have a nice weekend!

Best regards,

Hello again!

How are you?

I bet you already know what this message is for. It's Friday again so it's time for my Friday message.

Today we're going to look at something short but fun: a riddle (una adivinanza). A riddle is a puzzling question or a joke which seems nonsense
but in fact has a clever or funny answer.

Look at the following riddle:

What starts with T, ends in T and has T in it?

Take a guess but if you think it's too difficult, here's a hint:

The letter "t" is pronounced in the same way as the hot drink "tea".
The answer is a teapot. The word "teapot" starts with the letter "t", ends in the letter "t" and is a container used for making and serving tea. :)
La respuesta es "a teapot" (una tetera). La palabra "teapot" comienza por "t", acaba en "t" y es un objeto que se usa para hacer y servir el té. :)

Here are the translations of the words in bold which I used in this message plus some examples:

to bet: apostar

For example:

I bet you will get good marks in all your exams as you have been studying very hard recently.
Viendo lo mucho que has estudiado recientemente, apuesto a que sacarás buenas notas en todos los exámenes.

puzzling: desconcertante, confuso

For example:

It's a puzzling matter.

Es un tema desconcertante.

a hint: una pista, un consejo

For example:

Since you're finding it difficult to solve the riddle, I will give you a hint.
Como te está costando resolver la adivinanza, te daré una pista.

Well that's just it for our Friday riddle. If you got the correct answer with or without the hint, then excellent job!

Please remember that you can learn more new words by checking out the units of the ABA English course. Some of the words here were used
in unit 10 of our complete course.

See you next time!

Best regards,

Hello!

I hope that you are having a great Friday!

For today's Friday fun tip let's take a look at some prepositions of time commonly used in English: IN, ON and AT.
Hoy vamos a estudiar unas preposiciones de tiempo muy comunes en inglés: IN, ON y AT.

Let's look at a quick text and see how we use these prepositions correctly when reading, speaking or writing.

At 1 o'clock today I am going to my grandparents' house for lunch. My grandma told us to come at noon but Mum said it was too early. We
always go there on Sundays and spend the whole day there. I actually like to spend the night too because Granddad and I wake up at sunrise
and spend the morning walking in the mountains.
Last year on Christmas day Granny prepared the best meal ever for the whole family. She said that on my birthday this year she would make
a big cake and I could invite my friends.
In summer I normally go visit my grandparents too because they live on a farm and it's much better than the city. Once when I had school
holidays in 2012 I stayed with my grandparents for 2 months. We had great fun!
Hoy iré a comer a casa de mis abuelos a las 13:00. Mi abuela nos dijo que fuéramos a mediodía pero mi madre dijo que era demasiado
temprano. Siempre vamos los domingos y nos pasamos todo el día ahí. De hecho, también me gusta pasar la noche allí porque el abuelo y yo
nos levantamos al amanecer y pasamos la mañana paseando por la montaña.
El año pasado, el día de Navidad, la abuela preparó la mejor comida del mundo para toda la familia. Dijo que este año por mi cumpleaños me
haría un enorme pastel y que podría invitar a todos mis amigos.
En verano también suelo ir a visitar a mis abuelos porque viven en una granja y eso es mucho mejor que la ciudad. Una vez, en las vacaciones del
cole en el 2012, me quedé con ellos 2 meses. ¡Lo pasamos genial!

Now let's take a look at the rules so we can see how easy it is!

AT IN ON
months, years,
a specific time days and dates
seasons, decades
at 3 o'clock in May on Sunday
at 10.30am in summer on Tuesdays
at noon in the summer on March 6th
at dinnertime in 1990 on December 25th
at bedtime in the 90s on Christmas Day
at dawn in the next century on New Year's day
at sunrise in July on my birthday

Well, I'm sure you understand prepositions better now! Remember, if you want to, you can always refer to unit 21 of the course for more
information on how to use these prepositions correctly.

Have a great weekend!

Best regards,

Hello!

How are you today?

I hope you’ve had an amazing week.

Today let’s look at when and where to use CAPITAL letters in English.
Hoy vamos a estudiar cuándo y dónde poner las mayúsculas en inglés.

Firstly and very importantly the first person singular subject pronoun ”I” is always capitalised. Look at a couple of examples:

•I have already seen that movie.

Ya he visto esa película.

•Jack said that I could go on holiday with him.

Jack dijo que yo podía irme de vacaciones con él.

Days of the week, months of the year and important holidays start with capital letters in English, for example:

•Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday

lunes, martes, miércoles

•January, February, March

enero, febrero, marzo

•Christmas, Easter
Navidad, Semana Santa

We also use capital letters for countries, cities, continents and monuments. Look…

•Last year I visited several cities in Spain, for example, Barcelona, where I saw the Sagrada Familia.
El año pasado visité varias ciudades de España, por ejemplo, Barcelona, donde vi la Sagrada Familia.

•I love Big Ben in London.

Me encanta el Big Ben de Londres.

•He has visited Europe and Asia.

Ha visitado Europa y Asia.

• Her favourite country is Italy.

Su país favorito es Italia.

We also use them for people’s names and titles. Look at some examples:

•William Shakespeare
•Mrs Jones

•Dr Smith

•Queen Elizabeth

They are also used whenever you start a new sentence or after a full stop.

• The car drove very fast. It was hard to see it in the dark.
El coche iba muy rápido. Fue difícil verlo en la oscuridad.

•Would you like more tea? No, thank you!

¿Quieres un poco más de té? No, gracias.

•My parents like to go swimming on the weekend. However, my sister prefers seeing her friends.
A mis padres les gusta nadar los fines de semana. Sin embargo, mi hermana prefiere quedar con los amigos.

Languages are also capitalised in English. Here are some examples:

•She speaks Spanish very well.

Ella habla castellano muy bien.

•I can’t believe how hard Chinese is. I have studied it for years and still don’t understand anything!
No me puedo creer lo difícil que es el chino. Lo estudio desde hace muchos años y, ¡todavía no entiendo nada!

•English is a very useful language for travelling and work.

El inglés es un idioma muy útil para viajar y trabajar.

Writing in any language is important so remember that in section 3 in each unit in the ABA online course there is a section dedicated to writing
for you to practise and improve your writing and spelling.

Have you tried the first one? Practice makes perfect!

Have a great day,

Best wishes,

Hello!

How are you today? Having a great Friday I hope!

Let's look at some adverbs of definite frequency (adverbios de frecuencia definida), which are common in English. You may know words like
"always", "sometimes" and "usually". These are called adverbs of indefinite frequency. However, words like "daily", "weekly", "monthly" and
"yearly" are called adverbs of definite frequency. Do you know when to use them?

Let's look at some common adverbs of definite frequency.

every hour - hourly

every day - daily

every week - weekly

every month - monthly

every year - yearly

Adverbs of definite frequency, like all adverbs of definite time, tend to go at the end of a sentence. Look at these examples:

• Most companies pay taxes yearly.

La mayoría de las empresas pagan los impuestos anualmente / cada año.

• The cleaner checks the toilets hourly.

El encargado de la limpieza inspecciona los servicios cada hora.
• The directors meet weekly.
Los jefes se reúnen semanalmente / cada semana.

• The employees get paid monthly.

Los empleados cobran mensualmente / todos los meses.

• I hand in reports daily.

Entrego informes a diario / todos los días.

Remember that every day, for example, is also an adverb, and just like the rest can be used instead of daily or every week instead of weekly.

Sometimes, usually for reasons of emphasis or style, some adverbs of definite frequency may go at the front of the sentence, for example:
A veces, por razones de énfasis o estilo, algunos adverbios de frecuencia definida se pueden colocar al principio de la frase, por ejemplo:

•Every day she comes to work late!

¡Llega tarde al trabajo todos los días!

• Every week I wake up sad!

¡Me despierto triste todas las semanas!

I hope you enjoyed this lesson and learnt how to use adverbs of definite frequency! If you would like more information about different kinds of
adverbs, you can check out unit 16 of our complete course.

Thanks and have a great weekend!

Best wishes,

Hello again!

I hope you are having a really good day!

For a fun Friday tip let's take a look at some future forms in English. Let's look at be going to and will and when to use each of them.
Hoy vamos a ver algunas formas del futuro en inglés. Vamos a estudiar be going to y will, y cuándo utilizar cada uno.

Look at this email Jack sent from New York to his friend Oliver in London.

Hello, Oliver!

How are you? I am very excited about visiting you next month! Today I am going to buy my flight ticket. I think I will come on the 9th and I
will stay for two weeks. I promise you will be the first person I call when I land in London.

What are you doing this weekend? I am going to my friend Sue's birthday party. We have planned a surprise party at my house. We have
bought a big cake and will sing happy birthday when she arrives. I think she will be very happy!

See you soon, my friend! Have a great weekend!

Jack

¡Hola, Oliver!

¿Cómo estás? ¡Tengo muchas ganas de ir a verte el mes que viene! Hoy voy a comprar el billete de avión. Creo que iré el día 9 y me quedaré dos
semanas. Serás la primera persona que llamaré al llegar en Londres, ¡te lo prometo!

¿Qué vas a hacer este fin de semana? Yo voy a ir a la fiesta de cumpleaños de mi amiga Sue. Hemos planeado una fiesta sorpresa en mi casa.
Hemos comprado un pastel grande y le cantaremos el feliz cumpleaños cuando llegue. ¡Creo que le hará mucha ilusión!

¡Hasta pronto, amigo! ¡Que tengas un buen fin de semana!

Jack

"will" often suggests that a speaker will do something voluntarily. A voluntary action is one the speaker offers to do for someone else.
"will" a menudo sugiere que el que habla hará algo de forma voluntaria, para otra persona.

"will" also indicates spontaneous decisions.

"will" también indica decisiones espontáneas.
"will" is usually used to make promises.
"will" se suele utilizar para prometer cosas.

"be going to" indicates that something is a plan. It expresses the idea that a person intends to do something in the future. It does not matter
whether the plan is realistic or not.
"be going to" (ir a) indica que algo es un plan. Indica que una persona tiene la intención de hacer algo en el futuro. No importa si el plan es
realista o no.

Both "will" and "be going to" can also be used with predictions.
Tanto "will" como "be going to" se pueden utilizar también para hacer predicciones.

I hope this helps you understand "will" and "be going to" a bit better. Remember that you can refer to units 47 and 48 of the complete course
to get even more practice!

Have a great Friday!

Bye!

Hello there!

I hope you are having a great Friday!

Today's English grammar tip will be there is (singular) and there are (plural). We use "there is" and "there are" to say that something exists.
Let's see how to use and form them by looking at the examples below.
Hoy veremos cómo utilizar "there is" y "there are". Ambos se traducen por "hay" pero "there is" es singular y "there are", plural.

Positive Sentences

There is a car in the garage.

Hay un coche en el garaje.

There are three chairs in the classroom.

Hay tres sillas en la clase.

There is a book on the table.

Hay un libro en la mesa.

There are five kittens in the basket.

Hay cinco gatitos en la cesta.

We normally use "there is" with contractions. For example:

Solemos usar la contracción "there's" en lugar de "there is". Por ejemplo:

There's a car in the garage.

There's a book on the table.

We cannot use contractions with "there are".

No podemos hacer una contracción con "there are".

Negative Sentences

The negative is formed by putting not after "is" or "are". Here are some examples:
Creamos la forma negativa poniendo "not" después del verbo. Aquí tienes algunos ejemplos:

There is not a horse in the field.

No hay un caballo en el campo.

There are not eight children in the dining room.

No hay ocho niños en el comedor.

There is not a tree in the garden.

No hay un árbol en el jardín.

There are not two elephants in the zoo.

No hay dos elefantes en el zoo.

Negative contractions are:

There is not = There's not / There isn't

There are not = There aren't

Questions

To form questions we put "is" or "are" in front of "there". For example,

Para formar preguntas, ponemos "is" o "are" delante de "there". Por ejemplo,

Is there a person in the house?

¿Hay alguien en la casa?

Are there any oranges in the fruit bowl?

¿Hay alguna naranja en el frutero?

Is there any sugar in this cake?

¿Hay azúcar en este pastel?

Are there any kids in the park?

¿Hay niños en el parque?

I hope this helps you understand "there is" and "there are" a bit better. To understand these grammatical structures even more, go to ABA's full
online course and check out unit 28.

Have a great weekend!

Kind regards,

Hello!

How are you today? I hope your Friday is going well.

Today we are going to look at questions with "Do you want" or "Do you want to" in English.
Hoy vamos a estudiar cómo utilizar las preguntas "Do you want" o "Do you want to" en inglés.

Take a look at the following conversation between Victoria and Michael to see how they are used:

Victoria: Hi, Michael. Do you want to come to the cinema with me today at 5.30?
Victoria: Hola Michael. ¿Quieres venir al cine conmigo hoy a las 5:30?

Michael: OK, Victoria. Do you want me to invite Sally too?

Michael: Ok, Victoria. ¿Quieres que invite también a Sally?

Victoria: You can but I think she's busy.

Victoria: Puedes, pero creo que está ocupada.

Michael: What movie do you want to watch?

Michael: ¿Qué película quieres ver?

Victoria: I'm not sure. Let's decide in the car.

Victoria: No estoy segura. Decidamos en el coche.

Michael: OK! Do you want me to come pick you up?

Michael: ¡Ok! ¿Quieres que te venga a recoger?

Victoria: Yes please.

Victoria: Sí, por favor.

Michael: Do you want dinner afterwards at Pizza Mania?

Michael: ¿Quieres cenar en el Pizza Mania luego?

When we use "Do you want to" in English, we normally use a verb after the preposition "to". It is used in questions to find out if someone
wants to do something. For example:
Cuando usamos "Do you want to" en inglés, solemos poner un verbo tras la preposición "to". Se utiliza en preguntas para saber si alguien quiere
hacer algo. Por ejemplo:

Do you want to eat out tonight?

¿Quieres cenar fuera hoy?

Do you want to go to the cinema on Sunday afternoon?

¿Quieres ir al cine el domingo por la tarde?

If you want to offer to do something for someone else, use the structure "Do you want me to" + the base form of the verb, for example:
Si quieres ofrecerte a hacer algo por alguien, usa la estructura "Do you want me to" + la forma infinitiva del verbo, sin "to", por ejemplo:

Do you want me to help you with your homework?

¿Quieres que te ayude con los deberes?

Do you want me to make dinner tonight as you are tired?

¿Quieres que haga la cena hoy yo, ya que estás cansada?

We can also use "Do you want" followed by a noun after to offer someone something. For example:
Además, podemos usar "Do you want" seguido de un sustantivo para ofrecerle algo a alguien. Por ejemplo:

Do you want some water?

¿Quieres un poco de agua?

Do you want some more coffee?

¿Quieres un poco más de café?

I hope this has helped you understand how to use these structures. Remember that you can check out units 43 and 45 of the full ABA English
online course for more information on this topic.

Have a great weekend!

Bye for now!

Hi there!

I hope you are having a wonderful Friday!

Today we are going to look at an important auxiliary verb in English: the verb do.
Hoy vamos a estudiar un verbo auxiliar importante en inglés: "do".

We use the auxiliary verb do in negative sentences, questions and short answers for most verbs (except for the verbs "be" and "have got" and
also modal verbs) in the Present Simple. Remember that in the third person singular we use does.
Usamos el verbo auxiliar "do" en frases negativas, preguntas y respuestas cortas con la mayoría de los verbos (excepto los verbos "be" y "have
got" y los verbos modales) en el presente simple. Recuerda que en la tercera persona del singular, usamos "does".

Let's take a look at the use of do in questions, short answers and negative sentences.
Veamos el uso de "do" en preguntas, respuestas cortas y frases negativas.

QUESTIONS and SHORT ANSWERS:

• Do you like to study English? Yes, I do.

¿Te gusta estudiar inglés? Sí.

• Does she go to the same school as you? No, she doesn't.

¿Va al mismo cole que tú? No.

• Do you understand French? No, I don't.

¿Entiendes el francés? No.

NEGATIVE SENTENCES:

• He doesn't like to play football.

No le gusta jugar a fútbol.
• John doesn't enjoy school very much.
A John no le gusta mucho el colegio.

• I play the piano but I don't play the guitar.

Toco el piano pero no toco la guitarra.

• They don't eat pizza very often.

No comen pizza demasiado a menudo.

Do you want to learn more about this topic? You can check out unit 15 of the complete ABA online course for more information on the auxiliary
verb "do".

Have a great weekend!

Bye!

Hello again!

How are you today?

It's Friday and time for another fun English tip to help you improve your English. Today we are going to look at the words we use in English to
find out information: question words.
Es viernes y toca otra divertida lección de inglés para ayudarte a mejorar. Hoy vamos a ver las palabras que usamos para saber información en
inglés: las "question words".

What?: ¿Qué? / ¿Cuál(es)?

. What do you want to eat?

. ¿Qué quieres comer?

. What is the capital of Finland?

. ¿Cuál es la capital de Finlandia?

When?: ¿Cuándo?

. When are they coming for dinner?

. ¿Cuándo vienen a cenar?

Where?: ¿Dónde?

. Where is your house? I can't remember!

. ¿Dónde está tu casa? ¡No me acuerdo!

Who?: ¿Quién(es)?

. Who is your best friend in your class?

. ¿Quién es tu mejor amigo de la clase?

How?:¿Cómo?

. How do I write my name in Chinese?

. ¿Cómo se escribe mi nombre en chino?

Which?: used to talk about choices or alternatives in questions.

Which: lo usamos para hablar sobre elecciones o alternativas.

. Which bag should I choose? I like all of them!

. ¿Cuál de los bolsos debería escoger? ¡Me gustan todos!

Look at an interview in which Janet (J) interviews Mark (M), an actor, to see how to use them more naturally.

J: Hi, Mark! I'm really happy to finally meet you! I have lots of questions for you today. First of all, how are you feeling? Are you nervous?
J: ¡Hola, Mark! ¡Me alegra conocerte por fin! Hoy tengo muchas preguntas para ti. Primero, ¿cómo te encuentras? ¿Estás nervioso?

M: No. I never get nervous during interviews.

M: No, nunca me pongo nervioso durante las entrevistas.
J: OK, so where were you born?
J: Entonces, ¿dónde naciste?

M: I was born in the UK but I moved to LA a few years ago.

M: Nací en el Reino Unido pero me mudé a Los Ángeles hace unos años.

J: When exactly did you move there?

J: ¿Cuándo te mudaste exactamente?

M: I moved there in 2010. In the UK I was a waiter but now I am an actor.

M: Me mudé en 2010. En el Reino Unido era camarero, pero ahora soy actor.

J: Which do you prefer: being a waiter or an actor?

J: ¿Qué prefieres, ser camarero o actor?

M: An actor, of course! I earn more money!

M: Actor, ¡por supuesto! ¡Gano más dinero!

J: What do you like doing in your free time?

J: ¿Qué te gusta hacer en tu tiempo libre?

M: I love swimming, playing computer games and seeing my friends and family.
M: Me encanta nadar, jugar a videojuegos y ver a los amigos y a la familia.

J: Who is the most important person in your life?

J: ¿Quién es la persona más importante de tu vida?

M: My wife!
M: ¡Mi mujer!

There you go! I hope this makes it a bit easier for you.
Remember that you can find out more information about these question words and some other ones by looking at unit 18 and 20 of the ABA
online course.

Have a great weekend!

Best wishes,

Hello!

How are you today? I hope you are having a great day.

Today, as part of our quick lesson, we are going to look at two present forms that we can use to talk about the future. Don't be confused; I'll

show you how easy it is

The two present forms we use for the future are the present simple and the present continuous.

Firstly take a look at a short email Eric sends to his mother containing the present simple and the present continuous.
Primero echa un vistazo a un breve correo electrónico que Eric le manda a su madre y que contiene el presente simple y el presente continuo.

Hello, Mum!

Tomorrow I'm leaving for Australia. My plane leaves at 6 a.m. I need to take the night bus to the airport. It leaves the bus station at 3 a.m!
I'm staying with some friends of mine for a month, which I'm really looking forward to. I chose to travel now because my exams are in June
and I need to study a lot during that time. We are going to tour the west coast of Australia on a yacht with William's parents. I'll give you a
call as soon as I arrive.
Mañana me voy a Australia. Mi avión sale a las 6 de la mañana. Necesito coger el autobús de noche para llegar al aeropuerto. ¡Sale de la
estación de autobuses a las 3 de la madrugada! Me quedaré con unos amigos durante un mes, lo que me hace mucha ilusión. Decidí viajar
ahora porque mis exámenes son en junio y necesito estudiar mucho durante esa época. Vamos a hacer un tour de la costa oeste de Australia con
el yate de los padres de William. Te llamaré en cuanto llegue.

Lots of love,
Eric
The present simple is used to talk about scheduled events.
El presente simple se usa para hablar de eventos planeados.

Look at some examples from the above text:

- My plane leaves at 6 a.m.

- It leaves the bus station at 3 a.m.

- My exams are in June.

The present continuous is used to talk about arrangements or plans that we have made for the future.
El presente continuo se usa para hablar de planes que hemos hecho para el futuro.

Look at some examples from the above text:

- I'm leaving for Australia.

- I'm staying with some friends.

We also use the present simple after certain words or phrases, for example, "when" and "as soon as".
También usamos el presente simple con ciertas palabras o frases, como por ejemplo "cuando" y "en cuanto".

For example,

- When I arrive in Australia, I'll call you.

- Cuando llegue a Australia, te llamaré.

- I'll call you as soon as I arrive.

- Te llamaré en cuanto llegue.

I hope this has helped you!

Don't forget to refer to unit 39 of the ABA complete online course for more information about the topic.

Remember that practice makes perfect!

Enjoy your Friday!

Take care,

Hello everyone,

I hope you are having a fantastic Friday!

Today's lesson will be a bit different! Keep reading...

Let's start by reading the following conversation between Luis and Juliette:
Comencemos leyendo una conversación entre Luis y Juliette:

L: You should watch Gordon Ramsey's new cooking show. It's really good!
L: Deberías ver el nuevo programa de cocina de Gordon Ramsey. ¡Es muy bueno!
J: Yes, I saw you sent my brother an email about it.
J: Sí, vi que se lo enviaste a mi hermano por correo.
L: I have watched every episode. The other day I was looking for a chocolate cake recipe and found his show online. We should watch it in
the evening.
L: He visto todos los episodios. El otro día estaba buscando una receta para un pastel de chocolate y encontré su programa online. Lo podríamos
ver esta noche.
J: That sounds perfect!
J: ¡Perfecto!

Do you know what the difference between "see"", "watch" and "look" is? Let's have a look! ;)
¿Conoces la diferencia entre "see", "watch" y "look"? ¡Vamos a ver!

We use see to mean simply that an image comes into our eyes. It may not be a choice, if our eyes are open, we see things. For example:
Utilizamos "see" cuando nos referimos a una imagen que tenemos delante. "See" no es una decisión, sencillamente cuando tenemos los ojos
abiertos, vemos cosas. Por ejemplo:

"I can see clouds in the sky"

"Veo nubes en el cielo"

When we look, we concentrate on seeing something. It is a choice. For example:

Cuando decimos "look", nos concentramos en ver algo. Es una decisión consciente. Por ejemplo:

"Look! Isn't this a lovely dress?"

"¡Mira! ¿No es un vestido precioso?"

There are a lot of phrasal verbs for "look". Here are three very common phrasal verbs.
Hay muchos phrasal verbs con "look". Aquí tenemos tres muy comunes:

- Look at: used to direct someone's attention to something or someone.

- Look at: lo utilizamos para mostrar algo, hacer que la gente mire algo.
- Look for: to search for something or someone.
- Look for: buscar algo o alguien.
- Look after: to take care of someone or something.
- Look after: cuidar de alguien o de algo.

Ok, let's see if you understood today's lesson: what is the correct answer to the following quiz?
Ok, vamos a ver si entendisteis la lección de hoy: ¿cuál es la respuesta correcta?

'Did you ______ the football match last night?'

A. look
B. look at
C. watch

If you want to find out the correct answer, watch the video below. Watch until the end of the video to hear teacher Ella's grammar explanation.
Para saber cuál es la respuesta correcta, haced click en el siguiente botón. Mirad el video hasta el final para oir la explicación de la profesora
Ella.

What time is it?

Hello there!

I hope you are well today.

Today we are going to look at telling the time in English so that the next time someone stops you and asks you the time, you will feel confident
enough to tell them.
Hoy vamos a estudiar las horas en inglés así que la próxima vez que alguien te pare y te lo pregunte, tendrás la confianza de responderle.

There are two common ways of telling the time.

Hay dos formas muy comunes de decir la hora.

One way which is common in Britain is to say the minutes first and then the hour. For minutes 1 to 30 we use past but for minutes 31 to 59 we
use to.
Una forma muy común en el inglés británico es decir los minutos primero, y luego la hora. Desde el minuto 1 al 30 se usa "past" pero de los
minutos 31 a 59," to".

For example,

9:10 (ten past nine)

9:10 (las nueve y diez)

10:25 (twenty-five past ten)

10:25 (las diez y veinticinco)

11:40 (twenty to twelve)

11:40 (las doce menos veinte)

But...

instead of saying "15 minutes past", say (a) quarter past

instead of saying "15 minutes to", say (a) quarter to

instead of saying "30 minutes past", say half past

For example,

10:15 = (a) quarter past ten

10:15 = las diez y cuarto

9:45 = (a) quarter to ten

9:45 = las diez menos cuarto

11:30 = half past eleven

11:30 = las once y media

Another important rule is when the clock hands are on the hour we say o'clock in English.
Otra regla importante es que cuando es la hora en punto, se dice "o'clock" en inglés.

For example:

12:00 (twelve o'clock)

13:00 (one o'clock)

Another way of telling the time which is more common in the USA which is easier for many people is to say the hour first and the minutes
after, for example,
En Estados Unidos, hay otra forma más fácil de decir la hora con la hora primero y los minutos después, por ejemplo,

14:30 (two thirty)

18:26 (six twenty-six)

9:50 (nine fifty)

Remember that in the morning before 12:00 we always refer to the time as a.m. but after 12:00 we refer to the time as p.m.
Recuerda que hasta las 12:00 de la mañana, decimos "a.m.", pero después de las 12:00, "p.m.".

3 a.m. (three in the morning)

03:00 (las tres de la madrugada)

3 p.m. (three in the afternoon)

15:00 (las tres de la tarde)

I hope this has helped you understand how to tell the time. For more examples of how to tell the time, please refer to unit 9 of the ABA online
course.

See you next week!

Take care. Bye!

How to use “shall”

Hi there!

I hope you are well today.

Shall I help you with your English? If you haven't seen "shall" before in English, then I can show you how to use it correctly.
¿Te ayudo con tu inglés? Si no has visto nunca la palabra "shall" en inglés, hoy te enseñaré a usarla correctamente.

Firstly, have a look at the following conversation between Dan and Gemma:

Dan: Hey, Gemma! What time shall we meet today?

Dan: ¡Hola, Gemma! ¿A qué hora quedamos hoy?

Gemma: Around 2 o'clock. Is that OK? Shall I invite Eric too?

Gemma: Sobre las 2. ¿Te va bien? ¿Invito también a Eric?

Dan: Yes, I'd like to see him again.

Dan: Sí, me gustaría volver a verle.

Dan: Shall I come pick you up from work? It will be easier that way.
Dan: ¿Te paso a recoger por tu trabajo? Será más fácil así.

Gemma: Great! See you then!

Gemma: ¡Genial! ¡Nos vemos luego!

As you can see, we use "shall" for offers and suggestions. "Shall" is a more formal way of making offers or suggestions. We could also use the
words "should" for an offer or "I will" for affirmations.
Como puedes ver, usamos "shall" para ofrecer y sugerir cosas. "shall" es una forma más formal de ofrecer o sugerir cosas. También se podrían
usar las palabras "should" para ofrecer" o "I will" para afirmaciones.

Look at these examples:

• Are you going to study a master's degree after this?

• ¿Vas a estudiar un máster después?

• Yes, I shall / Yes, I will. I've always intended to do so.

• Sí, lo haré / Sí, lo haré. Siempre he tenido la intención de hacerlo.

• Shall / Should I open the window for you?

• ¿Quiere que le abra la ventana?

• Oh, yes please, it is very hot.

• Sí, por favor, hace mucho calor.

For negative sentences we can say "shall not" which means "will not" or the even older and less common form "shan't".
Para las frases negativas, podemos decir "shall not", que significa "will not", o la forma aún más antigua y menos común "shan't".

• You shall not / will not go out until you have finished your homework!
• ¡No saldrás hasta que hayas terminado los deberes!

• I shan't / will not / won't be long at the bank.

• No estaré mucho tiempo en el banco.

Well, there we go. I hope this has helped you understand "shall" a little more. For more information, go to unit 41 of the online ABA English
course.

See you next week!

Have a great weekend.

Best wishes,

Must and have to

Hello there!

How are you today? I hope you're having a great Friday!

Today we are going to look at two verbs used in English to indicate obligation. Often people get confused with the modal verb "must" and the
verb "to have to" and are unsure how to use them correctly. I will show you how.
Hoy vamos a estudiar dos verbos usados en inglés para expresar obligación. La gente se confunde a menudo con el verbo modal "must" y el
verbo "to have to" y no están seguros de cómo usarlos correctamente. Hoy te lo enseñaré.

Both "must" and "to have to" express obligation, often strong obligation depending on the tone of the speaker or the situation. However, there
is a slight difference in the way they are used.
Tanto "must" como "to have to" expresan obligación, y muchas veces una fuerte obligación según el tono del locutor. Sin embargo, hay una
diferencia sutil entre sus usos.

"must" often shows that the obligation is not external or is not a rule or law. It is expressed by the speaker and is often the speaker's opinion.
For example,
"must" suele mostrar que la obligación no es externa o que no es ni una regla ni una ley. Se expresa por el locutor y suele ser su opinión. Por
ejemplo,

• You must be on time tomorrow or you will be in trouble.

• Debes ser puntual mañana o te echarán una bronca.

• I must call my mother tonight.

• Debo llamar a mi madre esta noche.

• You must come to my new house as it has been ages since you last visited us.
• Debes venir a mi nueva casa porque hace un montón que no nos visitas.

"must" often indicates stronger obligation than "to have to".

"to have to" shows us that the obligation comes from something or someone else. Normally it is a law or rule. For example:
"to have to" indica que la obligación viene de otra persona o de otra entidad. Suele ser una ley o una regla. Por ejemplo:

• In class you have to switch off your phones.

• En clase tenéis que apagar vuestros teléfonos.

• I have to hand in my assignment tomorrow; it's the last day.

• Tengo que entregar mi redacción mañana; es el último día.

• John has to work every day just like the rest of us.
• John tiene que trabajar cada día, igual que los demás.

They take on totally different meanings, however, when used in the negative.

"must not" (or its contracted form "mustn't") expresses prohibition.

• You mustn't hit you sister.

• No debes pegar a tu hermana.

• They mustn't talk in the exam or they will be punished.

• No deben hablar durante el examen o se les castigará.

do not have to (or its contracted form don't have to) or does not have to (or its contracted form doesn't have to) are used to state that there
is NO obligation to do something or that something is not necessary.

• We don't have to go to school on Saturday.

• No tenemos que ir al colegio el sábado.

• The students don't have to study any more as the exams are all finished.
• Los estudiantes ya no tienen que estudiar porque ya se han acabado los exámenes.

• He doesn't have to sign the documents if he doesn't want to.

• No tiene que firmar los documentos si no quiere.

I hope this has been informative for you. For more on "must" and "to have to", please refer to unit 54 of the ABA online course.

Have a great weekend!

Bye!

4study tips to improve your grades

Hello!

I hope you are having a lovely Friday.

Do you enjoy revising? Probably not! A lot of people don't really like studying but today I want to share some tips to help make your revision
time effective and fun. I know it sounds impossible but with these 4 tips you can make the most of your study time and then you'll have time to
do the things you love!
¿Te gusta repasar? ¡Seguro que no! A mucha gente no le gusta estudiar, pero hoy quiero compartir algunos consejos para ayudarte a que el
tiempo que dedicas a repasar sea más efectivo y divertido. Sé que suena imposible pero con estos 4 trucos podrás sacar el máximo provecho de
tu tiempo de estudio y luego tendrás más tiempo para hacer lo que te gusta.

Tip Number 1: Eat Bananas

A healthy body means a healthy brain and a healthy brain is much more efficient at learning English! Instead of eating junk food and sweets,
have a banana. Bananas have lots of potassium which increases your energy levels. Also, bananas are delicious!
Tener un cuerpo sano significa tener un cerebro sano, y un cerebro sano es mucho más eficiente a la hora de aprender inglés. En vez de comer
comida basura y golosinas, cómete un plátano. Los plátanos tienen un montón de potasio, que aumenta tus niveles de energía. ¡Además, son
deliciosos!

Tip Number 2: Exercise

If you're feeling really tired and bored, do some exercise! You can go for a jog, go swimming or even have a mini dance party at home. I like
going for a long walk with my dog.
Si te sientes cansado/a y aburrido/a, ¡haz algo de ejercicio! Puedes salir a correr, ir a nadar o incluso organizar un pequeño baile en casa. A mí
me gusta salir a dar un largo paseo con mi perro.

Tip Number 3: Quiz Yourself

Studying all the time can get really boring so make it more fun by quizzing yourself. Take your notebook and write questions down one side of
the page. Then, try answering them as best as you can. Check if you answered them correctly and if you did, be happy with yourself as it means
you're ready to take your exam :)
Estudiar todo el tiempo puede ser realmente aburrido, así que hazlo más divertido compitiendo contigo mismo/a. Saca tu cuaderno y anota
preguntas en un lado de la página. Después, intenta responderlas lo mejor que puedas. Verifica si has respondido correctamente, y si es así,
alégrate porque eso significa que estás listo/a para hacer tu examen :)

Tip Number 4: Take a Break

This is my last tip for the day: don't be too hard on yourself. Remember to take breaks to give your mind and body a rest. Spend half an hour
going for a walk, playing a game or having coffee with your friends.
Este es mi último consejo del día: no seas demasiado duro/a contigo mismo/a. Recuerda hacer pequeñas pausas para darle un descanso a tu
cuerpo y a tu mente. Dedica media hora a caminar, jugar a algún juego o tomar un café con tus amigos.

I hope these tips make you enjoy studying more!

Are you practising for the TOEFL? If so, I recommend you watch this video from our friends at Magoosh to learn about the best TOEFL practice.
¿Estás practicando para el TOEFL? Si es así, te recomiendo que veas este vídeo de nuestros amigos de Magoosh para aprender los mejores
trucos para el TOEFL.

See you next Friday!

Take care,

The future conditional

Hello!

I hope you are having a lovely Friday.

If I study English every day, I will go to London at the end of the year!
Si estudio inglés cada día, ¡iré a Londres a finales de año!

If I don't study hard, I won't be able to go.

Si no estudio mucho, no podré ir.

Do you know what form I am using in the above sentences?

It is called the future conditional, also known as the first conditional.

Look at the following conversation between Mike (M) and Jane (J) to see how it is used:

M: Jane, if I study hard, will I pass the year?

Jane, si estudio mucho, ¿aprobaré el curso?

J: I hope so, Mike, but you need to work very hard. If you need help, I will help you.
Espero que sí, Mike, pero necesitas estudiar muchísimo. Si necesitas ayuda, echaré una mano.

M: But the teacher says that I won't pass the year if I don't get at least 80% in my next exam!
¡Pero la profesora dice que no aprobaré el curso si no saco al menos un 80% en mi próximo examen!

J: Don't worry. If you come to my house every day after school, you will pass your exam for sure! We can study together.
No te preocupes. Si te vienes a mi casa cada día después del colegio, ¡aprobarás el examen seguro! Podemos estudiar juntos.
M: OK, great! Thanks so much, Jane!
OK, ¡genial! ¡Muchas gracias, Jane!

The first conditional is used to talk about the consequences of an action or something that might happen in the future with a condition.
El primer condicional se usa para hablar de las consecuencias de una acción o algo que podría ocurrir en el futuro, con una condición.

Look at how to form it:

If + present simple, + will / won't + the infinitive without "to".

It may also be swapped around:

También podemos darle la vuelta:

subject + will / won't + the infinitive without "to" + if + present simple.

Look at the following sentence from Mike and Jane's conversation:

I won't pass the year if I don't get at least 80% in my next exam.
No aprobaré el curso si no saco al menos un 80% en mi próximo examen.

Another way of saying this is.

If I don't get at least 80% in my next exam, I won't pass the year.
Si no saco al menos un 80% en mi próximo examen, no aprobaré el año.

Both sentences mean that if Mike gets less than 80%, he will have to retake the year.
Ambas frases significan que si Mike saca menos del 80%, tendrá que repetir curso.

I hope this has helped you understand the first conditional. For further information, don't forget to check out unit 58 of the ABA online course.

See you next Friday!

Best wishes,

The zero conditional

Hi there!

How are you?

Today's quick English tip is conditional sentences with the present simple in both clauses. This conditional is also known as the zero conditional.
The zero conditional is used to talk about normal or real-life situations and when the result of the condition is always true, like a scientific fact.
Nuestro consejo de inglés de hoy tratará sobre frases condicionales con el presente simple en las dos cláusulas. Este condicional también se
conoce como el "zero conditional". Se utiliza para hablar de situaciones de la vida real cuando el resultado de la condición siempre es cierto,
como un hecho científico.

We use the following structures to form zero conditional sentences:

If / When+ the simple present, + the simple present

or

The simple present + if / when+ the simple present.

Here are some examples of zero conditional sentences

When you heat ice, it melts

Cuando calientas el hielo, se derrite.

When I wake up in the morning, I go for a run.

Cuando me levanto por la mañana, voy a correr.

Jim helps me when he has time.

Jim me ayuda cuando tiene tiempo.

If I go on holiday in summer, I usually go to my beach house.

Si voy de vacaciones en verano, suelo ir a mi casa de la playa.
I read books at night if I am not too busy.
Leo libros por la noche si no estoy demasiado ocupado.

What does he do when he finishes work each day?

¿Qué hace él cuando termina de trabajar cada día?

How do you feel if someone laughs at you?

¿Cómo te sientes cuando alguien se ríe de ti?

Well, I hope this has been useful. For more on present conditional sentences, check out unit 57 of the online ABA course.

I'll write to you again next week.

Take care,

Best wishes

Present Simple
Hello again!

How are you doing today?

For today's fun English tip we are going to look at the present simple in English. I'll show you exactly when and how to use it correctly. Are you
ready?
Para el consejo de inglés de hoy vamos a repasar el presente simple. Te enseñaré cuándo y cómo usarlo correctamente. ¿Preparado/a?

Right, let's start by looking at the following conversation between Robert (R) and Maria (M):
Ok, comencemos echando un vistazo a esta conversación entre Robert (R) y Maria (M):

R: The plane leaves for Barcelona at six tomorrow morning so I need to have an early night.
El avión sale para Barcelona mañana a las seis de la mañana, así que necesito irme a la cama temprano.

M: I know. You brother lives there doesn't he?

Ya. Tu hermano vive ahí, ¿verdad?

R: Yes he lives there too and so does my sister. I miss them a lot. I call them every weekend for a chat and now I can finally visit them.
Sí, él también vive ahí, al igual que mi hermana. Les echo mucho de menos. Les llamo todos los fines de semana para charlar un poco y ahora
finalmente puedo ir a visitarles.

M: Well, have a great time then! I leave for my holiday on Monday too so I'll see you when you get back.
¡Pásalo muy bien entonces! Yo también me voy de vacaciones el lunes, así que te veré cuando regreses.

Firstly, we use the present simple for something that is always true. Look at the following example from the text above:
En primer lugar, usamos el presente simple para hablar de algo que siempre es cierto. Mira el siguiente ejemplo del texto anterior:

- Your brother lives there too, doesn't he?

- Tu hermano también vive ahí, ¿verdad?

(In this conversation we can see that at the present moment Robert's brother and sister live in Barcelona.)
(En esta conversación podemos ver que en este momento el hermano y la hermana de Robert están viviendo en Barcelona.)

Remember that with the present simple we place an "s" at the end of verbs in the third person singular. "Do" becomes "does" in the third
person singular present form.
Recuerda que con el presente simple ponemos una "s" al final del verbo en la tercera persona del singular. "Do" se convierte en "does" en la
tercera persona del singular.

Secondly, we use the present simple for things that happen repeatedly and normally we use the adverbs "often", "always", "every day",
"sometimes", etc, with the present simple. For example:
En segundo lugar, usamos el presente simple para cosas que suceden de manera repetida, y en estos casos normalmente usamos los adverbios
"often", "always", "every day", "sometimes", etc.

- I call them every weekend for a chat.

- Les llamo todos los fines de semana para charlar un poco.

Lastly, it can be used for something that is fixed or based on a schedule. For example:
Finalmente, se puede usar para hablar de algo ya fijado o con base en un horario. Por ejemplo:

- The plane leaves for Barcelona at six tomorrow morning.

- El avión sale para Barcelona mañana a las seis de la mañana.

I hope this has helped you understand the present simple a bit better. For more on this topic, please refer to unit 14 of the full online ABA
course.

Goodbye for now!

How to improve your pronunciation

Hello!

I hope you had a great week and that you're ready to practice some English.

First of all, I want to teach you a famous sentence:

Antes de nada, quiero enseñarte una frase famosa:

"The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog"

It's a very popular sentence because it uses all the letters of the alphabet. This makes it a great way to practice your English pronunciation every
day.
Es una frase muy conocida porque usa todas las letras del alfabeto en inglés. Esto la convierte en una fantástica manera de practicar tu
pronunciación en inglés cada día.

Today, I want to give you some tips on how to practice speaking in English. We're going to start this lesson by remembering the difference
between enunciating and pronouncing.
Hoy te quiero dar algunos consejos para practicar el habla en inglés. Comenzaremos esta clase recordando la diferencia entre articular y
pronunciar.

Pronunciation is properly saying each group of letters to make the correct sounds.
Pronunciar es decir cada grupo de letras de manera correcta para emitir los sonidos correctos.

Enunciation is speaking clearly in order to allow someone to understand what you are saying.
Articular es pronunciar de manera clara para que se entienda lo que estás diciendo.

Let's look at an example with the word "February":

Veamos un ejemplo con la palabra "February":

Correct pronunciation - "Feb-rue-air-ee"

Pronunciación correcta

Correct enunciation: saying the word slowly and clearly.

Articulación correcta: decir la palabra despacio y de manera clara.

However, if you said "Feb-you-air-ee" slowly and clearly, you would be enunciating well but your pronunciation would not be correct.
Por eso, si dijéramos "Feb-you-air-ee" despacio y de manera clara, estaríamos articulando bien pero nuestra pronunciación no sería la correcta.

Or, if you said "Feb-rue-air-ee" properly but you said it very quickly and quietly, your pronunciation is correct but nobody will be able to hear
you.
O, por el contrario, si dijéramos "Feb-rue-air-ee" correctamente pero lo dijéramos rápido y en voz baja, nuestra pronunciación sería correcta
pero no se nos entendería bien.

This is why I always tell my students that to speak like the Queen of England, you must enunciate AND pronounce words well.
Por eso siempre les digo a mis alumnos que para hablar como la reina de Inglaterra tienes que pronunciar y articular bien las palabras.

If you'd like to keep practicing your pronunciation, I recommend you watch our new Youtube series. In each video you'll learn a new word, how
to pronounce it and how to use it in a sentence.
Si quieres seguir practicando tu pronunciación, te recomiendo que veas nuestra nueva serie en Youtube. En cada vídeo aprenderás una palabra
nueva, cómo pronunciarla y cómo usarla en frases.

You can start by learning how to pronounce the word "thoroughly". Just click on the video to watch the correct enunciation and pronunciation:
Puedes comenzar aprendiendo cómo pronunciar la palabra "thoroughly". Haz clic en el vídeo para ver cómo pronunciarla y articularla
correctamente:
I hope you enjoyed this pronunciation class!

See you next week,

Are you going to learn english today?

Hello!

How are you? I hope you are well.

Today I'm going to teach you about "going to" and how to use it correctly. Here I have used "I'm going to teach you" because it's my intention

Hoy voy a hablarte sobre "going to" y te enseñaré cómo usarlo correctamente. He usado la frase en inglés "I'm going to teach you" ya que es mi

intención.

"Going to" is used for events which are planned or expected.

"Going to" se usa para eventos planeados o esperados.

Look at the following conversation between Chris (C) and Stacey (S) to see how it is used:
Echa un vistazo a la siguiente conversación entre Chris (C) y Stacey (S) para ver cómo se usa:

C: Good morning, Stacey. Do you have any plans for the summer holiday? I'm going to spend a week in Ibiza with my friends.
Buenos días, Stacey. ¿Tienes algún plan para las vacaciones de verano? Yo voy a pasar una semana en Ibiza con mis amigos.

S: I'm not sure what I'm going to do, Chris. I may just stay here and spend time with my family. I'm very excited about next winter though as my
family and I are going to go skiing in the Alps.
No estoy segura de qué voy a hacer, Chris. Tal vez me quede aquí y pase tiempo con mi familia. Pero tengo muchas ganas de que llegue el
próximo invierno, ya que voy a ir con mi familia a esquiar a los Alpes.

C: That sounds like fun, Stacey. My family and I are going to Thailand to escape the cold winter. We do that every year. Anyway, Stacey, I have
to go. I'm going to have lunch with a close friend this afternoon.
¡Suena divertido, Stacey! Mi familia y yo iremos a Tailandia para escapar del frío del invierno. Lo hacemos cada año. Bueno, Stacey, tengo que
irme. Voy a comer con un buen amigo al mediodía.

S: OK, Chris, see you tomorrow!

Ok, Chris, ¡nos vemos mañana!

Remember we form this verb form using subject + the verb to be conjugated correctly + going to + the base form of the verb and to form the
negative we just add "not" after the verb "to be" and follow the same structure, for example:
Recuerda que esta forma verbal se crea combinando el sujeto + el verbo "to be" en su correspondiente conjugación + el verbo en infinitivo (sin el
"to"), y que para formar la forma negativa apenas añadimos "not" después del verbo "to be" y seguimos la misma estructura, por ejemplo:

We are not going to come to the party. (or the contracted form "We're not going to come to the party.")
No vamos a ir a la fiesta

"Going to" may also be used for predictions based on evidence we are able to see as we speak. For example,
"Going to" también se puede usar para hacer predicciones basándonos en señales que podemos advertir mientras hablamos. Por ejemplo:

• That book is going to fall off the table!

¡Ese libro se va a caer de la mesa!

• Look at those clouds! I think it's going to rain today.

¡Mira esas nubes! Creo que hoy va a llover
• I have just broken my wife's favorite vase. She's not going to be happy!
Acabo de romper el jarrón favorito de mi mujer. ¡No le va a hacer ninguna gracia!

Well, there you have it! I hope this has been helpful for you. For more information on "going to", please check out unit 47 of the ABA online
course.

See you soon!

Have a nice weekend.

Mine, yours, ours

Good afternoon!

How are you? I hope you are enjoying your Friday because I am enjoying MINE!

Do you know how to you use possessive pronouns? I'll show you.

Possessive pronouns are used when we want to show that something belongs to or is part of someone or something else. For example in the
sentence "These books are mine, not yours", the words "mine" and "yours" are possessive pronouns and are used to replace the longer forms
"my books" and "your books."
Los pronombres posesivos se usan cuando queremos indicar que algo pertenece a o es parte de alguien o algo. Por ejemplo, en la frase "These
books are mine, not yours" (Estos libros son míos, no tuyos), las palabras "mine" y "yours" son pronombres posesivos y se usan para sustituir a
los sustantivos "my books" y "your books".

There are some rules though which we need to remember so let's take a look.
Sin embargo, hay algunas reglas que debemos recordar, echémosles un vistazo.

We use possessive pronouns depending on:

Usamos pronombres posesivos según:

• number: singular (eg: mine) or plural (eg:ours)

número: singular (p. ej. "mine") o plural (p.ej. "ours")

• person: 1st person (eg: mine), 2nd person (eg: yours) or 3rd person (eg: his)
persona: 1ª persona (p. ej. "mine"), 2ª persona (p.ej. "yours") o 3ª persona (p. ej. "his")

• gender: male (his), female (hers)

género: masculino (his), femenino (hers)

The words mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours and theirs are possessive pronouns. They show who or what something belongs to.
Las palabras "mine", "yours", "his", "hers", "its", "ours" y "theirs" son pronombres posesivos. Indican a quién o a qué pertenece algo.

Let's look at some examples below of how to use them.

Veamos algunos ejemplos de cómo se usan.

• That house is ours.

Esa casa es nuestra.

• Those cars are theirs, not ours.

Esos coches son suyos (de ellos), no nuestros.

• This is my book, not yours.

Este es mi libro, no el tuyo.

• Those people are your friends, not mine!

¡Esas personas son amigas tuyas, no mías!

• The bicycle is his, not his brother's.

La bicicleta es suya (de él), no de su hermano.

• This is my bedroom. Hers is bigger.

Esta es mi habitación. La suya (de ella) es más grande.

Look at the possessive pronouns in these sentences and note that they may be used as subjects or objects.
Mira los pronombres posesivos de estas frases y fíjate en que se pueden usar como sujeto u objeto.
• Look at those houses. Mine is the biggest one.(subject = my house)
Mira esas casas. La mía es la más grande de todas.

• I really like your car. Do you like mine? ( object = my car)

Me encanta tu coche. ¿Te gusta el mío?

I hope this has helped you understand possessive pronouns better. For more information on this topic, please refer to unit 33 of the online ABA
English course and check out our blog!

See you next week!

Take care,

Should you or shouldn´t you?

Good afternoon!

How are you today?

Do you think you should study more English? Do you think that you might be improving? I'm sure you are

¿Crees que deberías estudiar más inglés? ¿Crees que podrías estar mejorando? Yo creo que sí

The words "should" and "might" are called modal verbs. Modal verbs are very common in English when we want to express possibility, ability
and obligation, amongst other things.
Las palabras "should" y "might" se denominan "modal verbs" (verbos modales). Los verbos modales son muy comunes en inglés cuando
queremos expresar posibilidad, habilidad y obligación, entre otras cosas.

Here is a list of some of the most common modal verbs and the main thing or things they express. This is not an exhaustive list.
Aquí tienes una lista de los verbos modales más comunes y los principales conceptos que expresan o indican. ¡Pero no son los únicos que existen!

should - advice or suggestions

could - possibility
would - a desire or a wish
might - probability
ought to - advice or suggestions. "ought to" is more formal than "should".
can - ability
must - strong obligation or advice

Look at the following text containing some of the above modal verbs:
Fíjate en el uso de los verbos modales en este texto:

Matthew is a doctor. He works at Brighton General Hospital. Matthew must wake up at 6 o'clock every morning in order to get to work on time.
He lives 45 miles from the hospital but he doesn't have a car so he takes the train and then a bus. All his friends think he ought to buy a car, but
he tells them he can't afford it. Matthew believes people shouldn't buy a car unless it's absolutely necessary and that they should use public
transport, because cars pollute the air and cause many diseases.
Matthew es médico. Trabaja en el Hospital General de Brighton. Matthew se tiene que levantar todos los días a las 6 de la mañana para llegar
puntual al trabajo. Vive a 45 millas del hospital pero como no tiene coche toma el tren y luego un autobús. Sus amigos le dicen que debería
comprarse un coche, pero él les dice que no se lo puede permitir. Matthew opina que la gente no debería comprarse un coche a no ser que sea
absolutamente necesario y que deberían usar el transporte público, ya que los coches contaminan el aire y causan muchas enfermedades.

Here are a few useful things to remember about modal verbs:

Aquí tienes algunos consejos útiles a recordar sobre los verbos modales:

• We can't put two modal verbs together. Here's an example:

Los verbos modales no pueden ir juntos. Por ejemplo:

He might can come to the party.

He might be able to come to the party.
Es posible que él pueda venir a la fiesta

• You can't conjugate modal verbs. For example:

Los verbos modales no se conjugan. Por ejemplo:

He musts buy milk later.

He must buy milk later.
Él tiene que comprar leche luego.

• After a modal verb we use the base form of the verb, i.e. the infinitive without "to", for example:
Después de un verbo modal usamos el verbo en infinitivo sin el "to", por ejemplo:

He can to swim.
He can swim.
Él sabe nadar

I hope this has helped you understand modal verbs better. For general information on modal verbs, go to unit 49 of the online ABA course. You
will study each of the verbs in more detail in the subsequent units.

Have a nice weekend!

See you soon!

Best wishes,

Was or wasn´t? that is the question

Hello again!

How are you? In today's lesson we are going to look at the verb "to be" in the past and how it is used in questions and answers.
¿Qué tal? En la lección de hoy vamos a estudiar el verbo "to be" en el pasado y cómo usarlo en preguntas y respuestas.

Let's look at a dialogue between a mum (M) and her son (S) about their days.
Veamos un diálogo entre una madre (M) y su hijo (S) sobre cómo les ha ido el día.

M: How was your day at school?

¿Qué tal fue tu día en el colegio?

S: Fine thanks, Mum. Was your day good?

Bien, gracias mamá. ¿Te fue bien el día a ti?

M: Yes, it was. I went shopping and had a coffee with my friend Susan.
Sí. Me fui de compras y tomé un café con mi amiga Susan.

S: Wasn't she supposed to come round for dinner tonight?

¿No se supone que vendría ella a cenar esta noche?

M: Yes, she was but she had to cancel because she is not feeling well. Were you busy at school today?
Sí, pero tuvo que cancelarlo porque no se siente muy bien. ¿Estuviste ocupado hoy en el colegio?

S: Yes, I was. We have a lot to do before the end of the year.

Sí. Tenemos muchas cosas que hacer antes de que acabe el curso.

M: Were all your friends there today too?

¿Estuvieron hoy también todos tus amigos?

S: No, they weren't because most of the class went on a science trip so just a few of us were at school.
No, porque la mayoría de la clase fue a una excursión de ciencia, así que quedamos pocos en el colegio.

Here are some of the important rules to remember when using "was" or "were" in the past simple:
Aquí van algunas de las reglas más importantes que debes recordar a la hora de usar "was" o "where" en el pasado simple:

• To form questions we change the position of "was" or "were" and the subject around, for example:
Para formar preguntas intercambiamos la posición de "was" o "were" y la del sujeto, por ejemplo:

Were you busy at school today?

• With questions containing the question words "which", "when", "where", "why", "how", etc, "was" or "were" just follow the question word.
For example:
Con preguntas que contengan los pronombres interrogativos "which", "when", "where", "why", "how", etc., "was" o "were" van justo después
de dicho pronombre. Por ejemplo:

How was your day at school?

• "Was" or "were" may be used in short answers.
For example, the possible short answers to the question "Were all your friends there today too?" are:

Se puede usar "was" y "were" en respuestas cortas.

Por ejemplo, las respuestas cortas a la pregunta "Were all your friends there today too?" pueden ser:

- Yes, they were.

- No, they weren't / No, they were not (to emphasize)

I hope this has been helpful for you. Remember that for more information on this topic, you can have a look at unit 63 of the ABA online course.

See you soon!

Have a nice weekend.

Can you speak in english? Can i help?

Hello there!

How are you today? I hope you are well and that you are enjoying your Friday!

Can you speak English? Can I help make it easier for you? The questions I am asking are formed by using the modal verb "can." It is a very
important modal verb that is used all the time so I am going to show you how and when to use it correctly.
¿Sabes hablar inglés? ¿Puedo ayudar a que te sea más fácil? Estas preguntas que te hago se forman con el verbo modal "can". Es un verbo
modal muy importante que se usa muy a menudo así que voy a enseñarte a usarlo correctamente.

Ready? Let's go!

can is used for the following:

"can" se utiliza en los siguientes casos:

- to talk about possibility or ability

para hablar de posibilidades o capacidades

- to ask or give permission

para pedir o dar permiso

- to make requests.
para pedir cosas.

To talk about ability or possibility, "can" is usually placed before the action verb. For example:
Para hablar de capacidades o posibilidades, "can" se suele colocar antes del verbo de acción. Por ejemplo:

• James is a good sportsman. He can play tennis, football and cricket very well. (ability)
James es un buen deportista. Sabe jugar al tenis, al fútbol y al cricket muy bien. (capacidad)

• Cathy can come to the party because she finishes work at 6. (possibility)
Cathy puede venir a la fiesta porque acaba de trabajar a las 6. (posibilidad)

To form questions asking for permission, "can" is placed at the beginning of the sentence.
Para formar preguntas pidiendo permiso, "can" se coloca al principio de la frase.

To give permission, "can" is placed after the subject.

Para dar permiso, "can" se coloca después del sujeto.

• Can I go to Lucy's party on Saturday night?

¿Puedo ir a la fiesta de Lucía el sábado por la noche?

• Can I smoke in this room?

¿Puedo fumar en esta habitación?

• You can take my car to work if yours isn't working.

Puedes coger mi coche para ir a trabajar si el tuyo no funciona.

To form questions making requests, "can" is placed at the beginning of the sentence.
Para formar preguntas pidiendo algo, "can" se coloca al principio de la frase.
Look at some examples:

• Can I have a coffee please?

¿Me pones un café por favor?

• Can you please help me paint my house this afternoon?

¿Puedes ayudarme a pintar mi casa esta tarde por favor?

• Can you give me a lift to work?

¿Me puedes llevar al trabajo?

For negatives we use "cannot" or the contraction "can't", for example:

• You can't arrive late because it's an important day.

No puedes llegar tarde porque es un día importante.

• The boys can't go out tonight as they have not finished their homework.
Los chicos no pueden salir esta noche ya que no han terminado sus deberes.

• He cannot play in the match as he is injured. ("cannot" is usually more emphatic)

Él no puede jugar en el partido ya que está lesionado. ("cannot" suele ser más enfático)

I hope this quick lesson has been helpful for you. For more on "can", please refer to Unit 50 and Unit 51 of the online ABA course.

Have a great weekend.

Bye for now!

I love English, don´t you?

Hello again!

How are you today? I hope you are well.

Today we are going to look at question tags with the auxiliary verb "to do" in English. Remember that we use question tags in English when
we want confirmation that something we believe is correct is indeed correct.
Hoy vamos a estudiar "question tags" con el verbo auxiliar "to do" en inglés. Recuerda que utilizamos "question tags" en inglés cuando
queremos que nos confirmen que algo que creemos correcto realmente lo es.

If the first part of the sentence is in the present simple affirmative, it is nearly always followed by a negative question tag using "don't" or
"doesn't". Exceptions are the verb "to be" and modal verbs.
Si la primera parte de la frase está en el presente simple y en afirmativo, casi siempre la seguimos de una "question tag" negativa, usando
"don't" o "doesn't". Las excepciones son el verbo "to be" y los verbos modales.

Look at some examples:

- You like John, don't you?

- Te cae bien John, ¿no?
- Yes, I do.
- Sí, me cae bien.

- We leave for Paris on Monday, don't we?

- Nos vamos a París el lunes, ¿verdad?
- No, we don't. We leave for Paris on Tuesday!
- No, no es así. ¡Nos vamos a París el martes!

- She likes pasta, doesn't she?

- A ella le gusta la pasta, ¿no?
- I think so!
- ¡Creo que sí!

A negative statement is followed by an affirmative "question tag" with the auxiliary verbs "do" or "does".
Una frase negativa va seguida de una "question tag" afirmativa con los verbos auxiliares "do" o "does".

For example:

- They don't have many friends in their new school, do they?

- Ellos no tienen muchos amigos en su nueva escuela, ¿verdad?
- No they don't, but I'm sure they will soon meet people.
- No, no tienen, pero estoy seguro de que conocerán a gente pronto.

- Mike doesn't have much work left, does he?

- A Mike no le queda mucho trabajo, ¿verdad?
- No, he has nearly finished.
- No, casi lo tiene terminado.

- You play the guitar, don't you?

- Tocas la guitarra, ¿no?
- Yes, I do. I also play the piano.
- Sí. También toco el piano.

When a statement contains a word with a negative meaning, the question tag needs to be positive.
Cuando una frase contiene una palabra con un significado negativo la "question tag" tiene que ser positiva.

For example,

- She hardly ever speaks to him, does she?

- Ella casi nunca habla con él, ¿verdad?

- They rarely eat out, do they?

- Ellos rara vez comen fuera, ¿verdad?

There you go! I hope this has been helpful for you. Remember that for more information on this topic, you can refer to Unit 24 of the online
ABA course.

See you next week!

All the best,

A quick lesson in quantifiers

Good afternoon!

I hope all's well with you today.

Our quick English tip for today is going to be related to the quantifiers "some" and "any".The words "some" and "any" are used when a speaker
cannot or does not specify amounts or numbers of things or people.
Nuestro consejo de inglés de hoy estará relacionado con los cuantificadores "some" y "any". Las palabras "some" y "any" se utilizan cuando el
locutor no puede especificar o simplemente no especifica las cantidades de cosas o personas.

Have a look at the following sentences:

- While driving to school yesterday, we saw three kids playing in the park.
Mientras íbamos en coche a la escuela ayer, vimos a tres niños jugando en el parque.

In this sentence the number of children is specified and it is important to know how many kids the speaker saw.
En esta frase se especifica el número de niños y es importante saber cuántos niños vio el locutor.

- While driving to school yesterday, we saw some kids playing in the park.
Mientras íbamos en coche a la escuela ayer, vimos a unos niños jugando en el parque.

In this sentence the speaker is unsure of how many children were playing in the park or the number is unimportant.
En esta frase, el locutor no está seguro de cuántos niños estaban jugando en el parque, o consideró que el número no era importante.

some is normally used in affirmative sentences. For example:

- Some people are coming to the party but I don't know how many.
Algunas personas vienen a la fiesta, pero no sé cuántas.

- If I have some free time after work, I will come visit you.
Si tengo un poco de tiempo libre después del trabajo, te vendré a visitar.

any is normally used in negative sentences. For example:

- The company still hasn't got any news about the merger.
La empresa todavía no tiene noticias sobre la fusión.

- I didn't see any of my friends at the party.

No vi a ninguno de mis amigos en la fiesta.

In the following dialogue between Chris (C) and Marta (M) we can see how to use the quantifiers "some" and "any" in conversation.

C: Morning, Marta. Would you like to go get some coffee?

Buenos días, Marta. ¿Quieres ir a tomar un café?

M: Morning, Chris. No I don't drink coffee any more. I stopped last month.
Buenos días, Chris. Ya no bebo café. Lo dejé el mes pasado.

C: That's OK. Some friends of mine are at a coffee shop nearby so I thought I'd offer.
No pasa nada. Unos amigos míos están en una cafetería aquí cerca, por eso te lo he propuesto.

M: I'd love to come but I have to study for next week's test. I haven't had any time to study yet.
Me encantaría ir pero tengo que estudiar para el examen de la semana que viene. Aún no he tenido tiempo para estudiar.

Normally we use "any" to make questions to ask about the existence of something, for example,

- Is there any rice left?

¿Queda arroz?

- Do you have any children?

¿Tienes hijos?

However, "some" can also be used when we are offering or suggesting something. Here are some examples:

- Would you like to go get some coffee?

¿Quieres ir a tomar un café?

- Would you like some new shoes for your birthday?

¿Te gustarían unos zapatos nuevos para tu cumpleaños?

It may also be used when asking for something.

- Could I have some water please?

¿Me podrías poner un poco de agua por favor?

- Can I have some fries with my burger?

¿Me puedes poner patatas fritas con la hamburguesa?

I hope this has been helpful for you. For more information, take a look at unit 27 of the online ABA course.

Have a great weekend!

Best wishes,

Hello! Can I speak to Chistian, please?

Hello again!

I hope you’ve had a good week and that your Friday is going well.

Even new English learners may have to speak English on the phone at some time or another.
Incluso quienes estén comenzando a aprender inglés tendrán que hablar por teléfono en un momento dado.

Normally speaking over the phone in English is difficult because we can’t see the other person’s face or see their mouth move and so we may
have trouble understanding them. However, when making and receiving phone calls, we normally follow some sort of structure.
Hablar por teléfono en inglés suele ser difícil porque no vemos la cara y la boca de la otra persona, así que nos puede costar entenderle. Sin
embargo, las llamadas telefónicas suelen seguir una estructura.

Let’s have a look at a few ways of speaking on the phone.

Firstly, let’s look at a common phone conversation between Tom (T) and Mrs Smith (MS):
T: Hello, can I speak to Max please?
Hola, ¿puedo hablar con Max, por favor?

MS: Sure. May I ask who’s calling?

Claro. ¿De parte de quién?

T: My name is Tom. Is that Mrs Smith?

Me llamo Tom. ¿Es usted la señora Smith?

MS: Yes, it is Tom. Just hang on a second. I’ll check if he’s here.
Sí, soy yo, Tom. Un segundo, veré si está.

(A few seconds later) I’m afraid he’s not home. Can I take a message?
(Unos segundos más tarde). Lo siento, no está en casa. ¿Quieres dejar un mensaje?

T: It’s OK, thank you, I’ll call back later. Thanks so much, Mrs Smith.
No hace falta, gracias. Llamaré más tarde. Muchas gracias, señora Smith.

MS: Not at all. Have a nice day.

De nada. ¡Que tengas un buen día!

T: You too.
Igualmente.

MS: Goodbye!
¡Adiós!

T: Goodbye, Mrs Smith!

¡Adiós, señora Smith!

We may also use many variations in our conversation and the list below will help you structure your sentences in a better way.
Podemos usar muchas variaciones de esta conversación y la lista de abajo te ayudará a estructurar las frases mejor.

Answering the phone:

- Hello!
- Good morning/afternoon/evening

Asking for a person:

- May / Can I speak to (name)?

- Is (name) there?

Asking to take a message:

- Can I take a message?

- Would you like to leave a message?

Asking who is calling:

- Who’s calling please?

- May I ask who’s calling?

Introducing yourself:
- This is (name)
- (Name) speaking

Asking a person to wait:

- Hold on
- Hang on, I’ll call (name)
- Just a second

I hope this has been helpful. For more information on speaking on the phone, take a look at unit 11 of the online ABA course.
Until next week!

Have a nice weekend.

There is a great lesson for you today!

Hello there!

I hope you are having a nice Friday.

Today we are going to have a look at “there was” and “there were” to see exactly when and how to use them.
Hoy vamos a estudiar “there was” y “there were” para saber cuándo y cómo usarlos.

We use “there was” and “there were” when we want to say something existed or something was present in the past.
Usamos “there was” y “there were” cuando queremos decir que algo existía o estaba presente en el pasado.

* Remember that “there was” and “there were” refer to the past and are the past tense of “there is” and “there are”.
* Recuerda que “there was” y “there were” son el pasado de “there is” y “there are”.

- We use there was with singular nouns. For example:

Usamos “there was” con sustantivos singulares. Por ejemplo:

There was a big garden in the front of the house.

Había un gran jardín delante de la casa.

There was a man at the bus stop.

Había un hombre en la parada de autobús.

- We use there were with plural nouns. For example:

Usamos “there were” con sustantivos plurales. Por ejemplo:

There were many travel guides at the bookshop yesterday.

Había muchas guías de viaje en la librería ayer.

There were seven hundred people at the convention last week.

Había setecientas personas en el congreso la semana pasada.

Look at this dialogue between Eric (E) and Pam (P) to see how to use “there was” and “there were” in conversation:

E: Were there many people at the show, Pam?

¿Había mucha gente en el espectáculo, Pam?

P: Yes, it was packed. You should have come! There was enough room in the car for you.
Sí, estaba muy lleno. ¡Tendrías que haber venido! Había suficiente sitio en el coche.

E: I know, I just didn’t feel like going out. There was a great film on TV last night anyway.
Lo sé, pero no tenía ganas de salir. Dieron una película muy buena por la televisión ayer por la noche, de todas formas.

P: There were amazing decorations set up too around the stage area and there was a new guitar player who I hadn’t seen before.
Había unas decoraciones increíbles alrededor del escenario también y un nuevo guitarrista que no había visto antes.

E: It sounds great. Next time I might come along.

Suena genial. Quizás me apunte la próxima vez.

As you can see, we make questions by placing “was” or “were” at the beginning of the sentence followed by “there.”

• Were there many people at the show?

¿Había mucha gente en el espectáculo?

• Was there anything good on TV last night?

¿Había bueno en la televisión anoche?

To form the negative we add “not” to “was” or “were” to form “was not” or “were not.” Alternatively, you can use the contracted forms
“wasn’t” or “weren’t”. Look at some examples:

• There were not / There weren’t many people at the show.

No había mucha gente en el espectáculo.
• There was not / wasn’t anything good on TV last night.
No había nada bueno en la televisión anoche.

I hope this has been helpful for you. For more information on this topic, please take a look at unit 64 of the online ABA course.

Have a great weekend!

Bye for now!

I think you will like this lesson
Good afternoon!

I hope you are well.

I am sure that you have heard of the verb "to like" before in English! It's one of our favourite verbs. We use it all the time to talk about things
that we enjoy doing.
¡Seguro que te suena el verbo "to like" en inglés! Es uno de nuestros verbos preferidos. Lo usamos con mucha frecuencia para hablar de
actividades de las cuales disfrutamos.

If we don't like doing something, we don't enjoy doing it!

Let's have a look at some examples of how to use "to like" in the present simple in the affirmative and negative forms.

Bob likes playing cards with his friends on Saturday mornings.

A Bob le gusta jugar a las cartas con los amigos los sábados por la mañana.

I like going shopping with my friends every weekend.

Me gusta ir de compras con mis amigas todos los fines de semana.

Mike doesn't like going to the gym. He prefers going running.

A Mike no le gusta ir al gimnasio. Prefiere ir a correr.

Sara likes studying in the library because it's much more peaceful there.
A Sara le gusta estudiar en la biblioteca porque allí se está mucho más tranquilo.

In general, children don't like doing their homework.

En general, a los niños no les gusta hacer los deberes.

The verb "to like" is often followed by a gerund, the "-ing" form of the verb. However, it is also possible to put an infinitive after the verb "to
like". It is possible to say, for example,
El verbo "to like" muchas veces va seguido de un gerundio, la forma "-ing" del verbo. Sin embargo, también puede ir seguido de un infinitivo. Se
puede decir, por ejemplo,

Bob likes to play cards with his friends on Saturday mornings.

Some other verbs which indicate preference are.

to love

to prefer

to hate

Look at some examples:

James loves watching films on TV whereas his sister prefers going to the cinema. James hates spending so much money just to see a film.
James loves to watch films on TV whereas his sister prefers to go to the cinema. James hates to spend so much money just to see a film.
A James le encanta ver películas en la tele mientras que su hermana prefiere ir al cine. James odia gastar tanto dinero solo para ver una película.

I hope this has been helpful!

For more on "to like", check out unit 17 of the ABA online course.

I hope that you have a great weekend!

Kind regards,
At, in and on
Hello again!

I hope you are well today.

For today's fun language tip we are going to look at the prepositions of place at, in and on.

We can use at, in and on when we talk about the location of things.
What do these three prepositions tell us about the location?

In general, we use:

• At for a POINT (un punto específico)

• In for an ENCLOSED SPACE (un espacio cerrado)
• On for a SURFACE (una superficie)

Look at some examples:

Mike is at the bus stop waiting for a bus.

Mike está en la parada esperando un autobús.

James doesn't like to be locked in his office all day; he likes to be outside.
A James no le gusta estar encerrado en la oficina todo el día; le gusta estar al aire libre.

When I got home, I saw a cat sitting on my car!

¡Cuando llegué a casa vi un gato tumbado sobre mi coche!

Let's take a look at a list of some words which often follow these prepositions of place:

AT
home - work - school - university - college - a station - an airport - the seaside

IN
the newspaper - bed - hospital - prison - the street - the sky - a photograph - a picture/photo - the mirror - the corner (of a room).

ON
the left - the right - the ground floor - the first, second, etc, floor - on a chair (sit) - on the radio - on television/TV - on a horse - on the corner (of
a street).

An important rule to remember is, that we use on for most means of transport:
Una regla importante es que usamos "on" con la mayoría de los medios de transporte:

I am on the bus/my bike/my motorbike/my skateboard/a plane/the train at the moment.

However, we do not use on for cars and taxis; we use the preposition in:
Sin embargo, no usamos "on" con los coches y taxis; usamos la preposición "in".

I am in my car/a taxi at the moment.

I hope this has been helpful for you! Remember that for more information on this topic, you can take a look at unit 21 of the ABA online course.

Have a great weekend.

Take care,

How to contract the verb “to Be”

Hello there!

I hope you’re well and enjoying your Friday!

Today we’re going to look at the contracted forms of the verb “to be” in the present simple. Remember that contractions are very common in
informal writing and speech in English.
Hoy vamos a estudiar las formas contraídas del verbo “to be” en el presente simple. Recuerda que las contracciones son muy comunes cuando
se escribe o se habla de manera informal en inglés.
Before we continue, here’s a reminder of the verb “to be” in the present simple:

I am

You are

He / She / It is

We are

You (plural) are

They are

To make a contraction with a subject pronoun and the verb “to be”, join the two words and replace the first letter of the conjugated verb “to
be” with an apostrophe.
Para hacer una contracción con un pronombre de sujeto y el verbo “to be”, une las dos palabras y reemplaza la primera letra de la forma
conjugada del verbo “to be” con un apóstrofo:

I am I'm
You are You're
He / She / It is He's / She's / It's
We are We're
You (plural) are You're
They are They're

Have a look at the following dialogue between Richard (R) and Sandra (S) to see contractions in everyday speech:

S: Hey, Rich! I heard you’re going to Brazil this week!

¡Hola, Rich! ¡Me han dicho que te vas a Brasil esta semana!

R: Yes, I’m leaving on Thursday morning.

Sí, me marcho el jueves por la mañana.

S: You’re so lucky. I’m just staying here the whole summer.

Qué suerte tienes. Yo me quedo por aquí todo el verano.

R: That’s unfortunate. Did you hear that John’s coming with me to Brazil? He’s buying his ticket tonight. We’re both really excited.
¡Qué mala suerte! ¿Sabías que John me acompaña a Brasil? Se compra el billete esta noche. Los dos estamos muy emocionados!

S: Have a great time!

¡Pasadlo muy bien!

To make a negative sentence, just add “not” after the contraction. For example,

- I’m not happy because it’s raining.

No estoy contento porque está lloviendo.

- She’s not coming to the party.

Ella no viene a la fiesta.

- They’re not tired today.

No están cansados hoy.

- We’re not going to the party because we haven’t been invited.

No vamos a la fiesta porque no nos han invitado.

It is also possible to say “you aren’t” instead of “you’re not”, “he / she / it isn’t” instead of “he / she / it’s not”, “we aren’t” instead of “we’re
not” and “they aren’t” instead of “they’re not”. For example,

- She isn’t coming to the party.

- They aren’t tired today.

- We aren’t going to the party because we weren’t invited.

I hope this has been helpful! Remember that for more on this subject, you can check out unit 3 of the online ABA course.

Have an awesome weekend!

Take care,

Here is your lesson

Hello!

I hope you are enjoying your Friday.

I’m enjoying my day, especially because I get to help you learn something new in English.

Are you ready?

Today we are learning about possessive adjectives.

Possessive adjectives are used to show possession or ownership of something. While we use them when we refer to people, it is more in the
sense of relationship than ownership. For example,
Los adjetivos posesivos se usan para indicar posesión. Cuando los usamos para referirnos a personas, indican más un sentido de relación que de
posesión. Por ejemplo,

This is Sarah. She is my wife.

Te presento a Sarah. Es mi mujer.

The possessive adjectives are as follows:

I — My
You — Your
He — His
She — Her
It — Its
We — Our
You(plural) — Your
They — Their

Check out some sentences with possessive adjectives:

* My brother helped me build this house.

Mi hermano me ayudó a construir esta casa.

* Is this your luggage?

¿Es vuestro equipaje?

* I think Mike has lost his suitcase!

¡Creo que Mike ha perdido su maleta!

* Jane is sad because her grandpa died recently.

Jane está triste porque su abuelo murió hace poco.

* That butterfly is beautiful; its wings look like a face.

Esa mariposa es hermosa; sus alas parecen una cara.

* Our parents are away this weekend so we are having a party!

¡Nuestros padres no están este fin de semana así que vamos a montar una fiesta!

* Don’t touch their books, John!

¡No toques sus libros (los libros de ellos), John!

Well, that’s easy enough, isn’t it? For more on this please topic, check out unit 30 of the ABA online course.
Have a great weekend!

Bye for now.

Past simple of to be
Hi there!

I hope you are enjoying your Friday!

I am and I’m also happy to help you learn some more English, so let’s get started!

We are going to look at the past simple of the verb “to be” today and how to use it correctly.
Hoy vamos a estudiar el pasado simple del verbo “to be” y cómo estudiarlo bien.

Below are some affirmative sentences containing “to be” in the past simple:

- I was cold.
(Yo) Tenía frío.

- You (singular) were hungry.

Tenías hambre.

- He was tired.
(Él) Estaba cansado.

- She was happy.

(Ella) Estaba contenta.

- It was funny.
(Aquello) Era divertido.

- We were at home.
Estábamos en casa.

- You (plural) were at school.

Estabais en el cole.

- They were angry.

Estaban enfadados.

Remember that to form the negative, we just have to put “not” after “was” or “were”.

Remember that you can also use the contracted form of the verbs in the negative. You can see them in brackets.

- I was not (wasn’t) cold.

- You (singular) were not (weren’t) hungry.

- He was not (wasn’t) tired.

- She was not (wasn’t) happy.

- It was not (wasn’t) funny.

- We were not (weren’t) at home.

- You (plural) were not (weren’t) at school.

- They were not (weren’t) angry.

Finally, let’s look at some questions and short answers.

Remember that we put “was” or “were” at the beginning of questions followed by the subject of the sentence.
Recuerda que ponemos “was” o “were” al principio de la frase seguido del sujeto de la frase.

Were you (to one person) tired yesterday? Yes, I was / No, I wasn’t.
¿Estabas cansado ayer? Sí, lo estaba / No, no lo estaba.

Was he awake at five this morning? Yes, he was / No, he wasn’t.

¿Estaba él despierto a las cinco de la madrugada? Sí, lo estaba / No, no lo estaba.

Was the film funny? Yes, it was / No, it wasn’t.

¿Era divertida la película? Sí, lo era / No, no lo era.

Were you (to more than one person) at work when I phoned this morning?
Yes, we were / No, we weren’t.
¿Estabais en el trabajo cuando llamé esta mañana? Sí, lo estábamos / No, no lo estábamos.

I hope this has been helpful! For more on this topic, please check out units 61 to 63 of the ABA online course.

Have a great weekend!

Take care,

Homophones
Hello!

I hope you are well and looking forward to the weekend.

Today we are going to look at three words which are spelt differently, have different meanings, but are pronounced the same, i.e., they are
homophones. These words are “two”, “to” and “too”.
Hoy vamos a estudiar tres palabras que se escriben de forma diferente, tienen significados diferentes, pero se pronuncian igual, es decir, son
homófonas: “two”, “to” y “too”.

Let’s start by looking at the easiest of these three words: “two”.

“two” (2) is a number. For example,

He has two flatmates. I have two sisters.

(Él) Tiene dos compañeros de piso. Tengo dos hermanas.

“to” is used to indicate purpose, as in the following examples:

I went home during my lunch break to have a nap.

Fui a casa durante la hora de comer para echarme una siesta.

He is training every day to win the competition.

(Él) Entrena todos los días para ganar la competición.

Here the “to” is followed by a verb.

“to” is also used as a preposition expressing motion in the direction of (a particular location), for example:

Yesterday I went to the supermarket.

Ayer fui al supermercado.

My parents went to Malta on holiday last year.

Mis padres se fueron de vacaciones a Malta el año pasado.

“to” also has lots of other uses which you will discover as you study English.

The final word we are going to look at today is “too”.

“too” is usually used at the end of a sentence or clause and means “in addition” or “also”.

I love Chinese food and I love Spanish food too.

Me encanta la comida china y la comida española también.

Brad Pitt isn’t just good-looking; he’s a very good actor too.
Brad Pitt no es solo guapo; también es muy buen actor.

“too” is sometimes used before an adjective or adverb and in this case it means “more than what is wanted, needed, acceptable, possible, etc.”
I am too hot. He drove too fast and caused an accident.
Tengo demasiado calor. (Él) Condujo demasiado rápido y provocó un accidente.

For more information on homophones and other confusing English words, check out our blog.

Have a lovely weekend. You now have two days to do what you want ? Don’t forget to study some English too!

Take care,

To verb “to have”

Hello again!

I hope you are well today. …..Hope: Esperanza

Espero que estes bien hoy

How about learning something new in English today? Let’s get to it then!

The verb “to have” is one of the most important verbs in the English language. It can be used both as a main verb and an auxiliary verb. Today
we are going to look at the affirmative form of the “to have” as a main verb in the present simple.

The verb “to have” expresses possession of objects, characteristics and relationships. It may also be used to express an action, especially when
eating, drinking or consuming something. Look at some examples:
El verbo “to have” expresa la posesión de cosas, las características y las relaciones. También se puede usar para expresar acciones, sobre todo a
la hora de comer, beber o consumir algo. Mira unos ejemplos:

- I always have a shower before I have breakfast.

Siempre me ducho antes de desayunar.

- He always has coffee and toast in the morning before work.

Siempre toma café y tostadas por la mañana antes del trabajo.

Take a look at this short paragraph about John and Mary’s life to see how “to have” is used:

John and Mary have a big house by the sea. They have a dog named Jack and he has blue eyes and grey fur. Every morning John and Mary have
breakfast out on their terrace overlooking the sea. They love having barbecues on the beach. They have great weather all year round so it’s not
a problem. They both have good jobs which is why they can afford to have such a luxurious life. John and Mary have everything they need to be
happy.
John y Mary tienen una casa grande cerca del mar. Tienen un perro que se llama Jack y tiene los ojos azules y el pelo gris. Cada mañana John y
Mary desayunan en su terraza con vistas al mar. Les encanta hacer barbacoas en la playa. Siempre hace buen tiempo así que lo tienen fácil. Los
dos tienen un buen trabajo y por eso pueden permitirse una vida tan llena de lujos. Tienen todo lo que necesitan para ser felices.

• Remember that the third person form of “to have” is “has.”

• Remember that “to have” is more common in American English to talk about possession and “have got” is more common in British English.

I hope this has been helpful! For more on the affirmative of “to have”, please check out unit 25 of the ABA online course.

Have a great weekend!

Bye!