Class Notes, Wednesday, 15 October, 2015

1 Speaking

We started off class today by doing the conversation activity 3e on page 5.

Here are some doubts that came up:

*Do you have vs Have you got:

-> Remember, we can use both forms of the verb. "Do you have" is increasingly common. Remember that in the first case "do" is the auxiliary verb and in the second case "have" is the auxiliary verb:

"Have you got a car?"  "Yes, I have."
"Do you have a car?"  "Yes, I do."

"I haven't got a car."
"I don't have a car."

*I don't have vs I have no

We can use the word "no" for negation in some cases:

"I don't have any money."
"I have no money."

"We didn't see any cars."
"We saw no cars."

We usually use this structure with transitive verbs.

*Programación infantil

We can say "Children's programmes" or "programmes for children."

2 Numbers Review

Let's go to page 5 and do exercises 4c and d. 

d Listen and write the numbers:

1 Gate 40
2 181 miles
3 Tel. 07929618847
4 Population: 2,500
5 6.15 pounds

*Remember, we don't use and when talking about thousands.

ex. 1,500 -> One thousand five hundred

*Remember, commas and periods are switched (cambiados) in English.

*We can express numbers from 1100 to 9900 as "eleven hundred" and "ninety-nine hundred." This is most common when talking about dates, as in 1995 "Nineteen ninety-five" or when talking about money.

3 Listening

Let's go to page 6. Listen to track 1.9 and decide which picture is the man's girlfriend.

(It's picture 1)

*What's she like vs What does she look like?

We use "What's she/he like?" to ask about personality.

We use "What does she/he look like?" to ask about physical appearance.

4 Vocabulary

Let's go to page 150.

1 Appearance Apariencia física

1. She has big blue eyes. Tiene grandes ojos azules.
2. She has curly red hair. Tiene el pelo rojo y rizado.
3. She has long straight hair. Tiene el pelo largo y liso.
4. He's bald. Es calvo.
5. He has a beard and moustache. Tiene barba y bigote.
6. She has dark wavy hair.  Tiene el pelo moreno y ondulado.
7. He's very tall and thin. Es muy alto y flaco.
8. He's medium height and quite slim. Es de estatura media y bastante delgado.
9. He's quite short and a bit overweight. Es bajito y tiene un poco de sobrepeso.

*Hair colour

blonde  rubio
brown  moreno
black negro
red rojo
grey gris
salt and pepper canoso (negro y blanco)

She's a redhead.  Es pelirroja
She's a blonde.  Es rubia.
She's a brunette.  Es morena.
She's got fair hair.  Tiene el pelo claro.
She's got dark hair.  Tiene el pelo moreno/oscuro.
She has dyed hair. Tiene el pelo teñido.

Her hair is long. Tiene el pelo largo. / Tiene melena.
Her hair is short. Tiene el pelo corto.
Her hair is shoulder-length. Tiene el pelo por los hombros.

*Body Type

Fat -> gordo (muy negativo)
Overweight -> sobrepeso
Chubby -> rechoncho
Thin -> delgado/flaco
Slim -> delgado
Skinny -> flaco

He's got an average build. -> Tiene una complexión media.
He's got a strong/heavy build. -> Tiene una complexión fuerte.

*Skin

Fair complexion -> Piel clara
Dark complexion -> Piel morena/oscura

freckles -> pecas
spots -> granos
wrinkles -> arrugas

2 Personality (opposites)

1 A person who is open and warm is friendly. (unfriendly)
2 A person who talks a lot is talkative. (quiet)
3 A person who likes giving people things is generous. (mean)
4 A person who is friendly and good to other people is kind. (unkind)
5 A person who doesn't want to work is lazy. (hard-working/active)
6 A person who makes people laugh is funny. (serious)
7 A person who is quick at learning and understanding things is clever. (stupid)
8 A person who can't talk easily to people he/she doesn't know is shy. (extrovert)

*Remember, fun means divertido and funny means gracioso. Don't confuse them! It is a common error.

*Kind has two meanings 1) nice, good person  2) type, sort

*Mean has three meanings 1) significar 2) mezquino 3) tacaño

5 Reading

Let's go back to page 6. Let's read the first paragraph of the text and answer the questions in 2b.

1. What is the idea of the experiment? 
Charlotte's mother and her best friend will try to choose a boyfriend for her.
2. Who is Charlotte? 
She is a 25-year-old web designer.
3. Who are Alice and Katie? 
Alice is Charlotte's mother and Katie is her best friend.
4. What do Alice and Katie have to do? Then what happens?
They each choose a man for Charlotte. Then she goes on a date with each of them.

*Remember: She is 25. OR She is a 25-year-old. OR She is 25 years old.
                   NOT: She is 25 years.  She is a 25-years-old. She is 25-year.