Be used to + noun or gerund means "be accustomed to"
She's a nurse so she's used to seeing sick people.
Get used to + noun or gerund means "become accustomed to"
I want to leave Athens; I can't get used to the heat.
viernes, 13 de abril de 2012
Habitual behaviour in the past
The past simple is used for regular actions or habitual behaviour in the past, often with a frequency adverb:
I hardly ever went away on holiday when I was young.
Used to + infinitive is used to refer to past habits and situations which no longer occur or exist now:
We used to have a dog, but he died last year.
Note: the negative and question forms:
I didn't use to like pizza. Where did you use to study?
Note: use to cannot express present habitual behaviour. I usually (not use to) play basketball once a week.
Would + infinitive is used to refer to past habits, but not past situations:
Habit: My mother would often read to me when I was a young boy.
Situation: I used to (not would) have a bicycle.
Stative verbs such as have (possession), be, live, like, believe, think (= have an opinion), understand and know are not used with would to refer to the past.
I hardly ever went away on holiday when I was young.
Used to + infinitive is used to refer to past habits and situations which no longer occur or exist now:
We used to have a dog, but he died last year.
Note: the negative and question forms:
I didn't use to like pizza. Where did you use to study?
Note: use to cannot express present habitual behaviour. I usually (not use to) play basketball once a week.
Would + infinitive is used to refer to past habits, but not past situations:
Habit: My mother would often read to me when I was a young boy.
Situation: I used to (not would) have a bicycle.
Stative verbs such as have (possession), be, live, like, believe, think (= have an opinion), understand and know are not used with would to refer to the past.
Habitual behaviour in the present
The present simple is used for habitual actions or permanent situations in the present:
I go for a run twice a week.
Frequency adverbs are used to indicate how often an action occurs. They are usually placed:
Before the main verb. I never go to bed before midnight.
After the verb to be or an auxilary verb. She is very often early for work. They have rarely been seen together.
Usually, normally, frequently, sometimes, very/quite often and occasionally can also placed at the beginning of the sentence or clause. Occasionally we go out to the cinema. Note: always, rarely seldom, hardly ever and never cannot be used in the same way.
Variations:
The present continuous + always is used to talk about things which occur frequently and which the speaker finds annoying (fastidioso). He's always complaining about something!
Adjectives can be used as an alternative to rarely, normally and (not) usually. It's rare/normal/(un)usual for him to eat meat.
Tend to + infinitive is used to make general statements about the habitual actions and situations of groups of people or individuals. English people tend to drink tea rather than coffee.
Will + infinitive is used to talk about habitual behaviour. Frequency adverbs can also be added. She'll sometimes spend the whole day reading.
Keep (on) + gerund is used to talk about repeated actions, often annoying ones. Peter keeps on hitting me.
I go for a run twice a week.
Frequency adverbs are used to indicate how often an action occurs. They are usually placed:
Before the main verb. I never go to bed before midnight.
After the verb to be or an auxilary verb. She is very often early for work. They have rarely been seen together.
Usually, normally, frequently, sometimes, very/quite often and occasionally can also placed at the beginning of the sentence or clause. Occasionally we go out to the cinema. Note: always, rarely seldom, hardly ever and never cannot be used in the same way.
Variations:
The present continuous + always is used to talk about things which occur frequently and which the speaker finds annoying (fastidioso). He's always complaining about something!
Adjectives can be used as an alternative to rarely, normally and (not) usually. It's rare/normal/(un)usual for him to eat meat.
Tend to + infinitive is used to make general statements about the habitual actions and situations of groups of people or individuals. English people tend to drink tea rather than coffee.
Will + infinitive is used to talk about habitual behaviour. Frequency adverbs can also be added. She'll sometimes spend the whole day reading.
Keep (on) + gerund is used to talk about repeated actions, often annoying ones. Peter keeps on hitting me.
lunes, 9 de abril de 2012
Sounds and spelling
Here are two files where you can see the 44 english phonemes. Then, I recommend you open the web site down here, write the different words from these files and finally listen the correct pronunciation.
http://www.howjsay.com/
viernes, 6 de abril de 2012
Bad Pronunciation
Here are five sequences of celebrities speaking with bad pronunciation of English. Not for sensible people. With all my love, this is because I want to improve my, our and their English. This is for learn how we mustn't speak. :P Soon, some more! Enjoy it!
Emilio Botín
El príncipe gitano
Jesús Gil
Zapatero
Francesc Roses
Emilio Botín
El príncipe gitano
Jesús Gil
Zapatero
Francesc Roses
miércoles, 4 de abril de 2012
Dictionaries
Three dictionaries very complete...
http://dictionary.reference.com/
http://oxforddictionaries.com/
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/
http://dictionary.reference.com/
http://oxforddictionaries.com/
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/
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