Possessive Pronouns

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,

modal verbs

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) See you soon! Have a nice weekend.

How to Use "Can"

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 abilitypara hablar de posibilidades o capacidades - to ask or give permissionpara 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!

“some” and “any”

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,

What can be done to prevent divorce?

What can be done to prevent divorce?

               Nowadays, divorce rates are increasing significantly, and the emotional as well as economic stability of the family is at risk. Fortunately, there are some solutions to avoid this.

               One way to prevent divorce would be to visit a special counselor who can help couples to reinforce the three elements of love: compromise, intimacy and passion. As a result, couples would be aware of where their problems are.

               Another solution would be to spend time with your partner, just the two of you, in order to improve dialogue and communication, which is sometimes difficult to find at home with children around. Furthermore, this will surely revive the couple’s first moments of passion.

               All things considered, there are many solutions to the problem of divorce. The more you know your partner, the happier you will be as a couple.

                

How has texting affected face-to-face relationships?

               Once upon a time there was a wonderful world with no Internet where people looked for each other in order to communicate. Nevertheless, nowadays it is impossible to live without being connected to the net. Due to this/Consequently, face-to-face relationships are on the verge of extinction/are about to become extinct.

               To begin with, it is unfortunately common to see smartphone users  texting or facebooking while ignoring the person next to them. People should restrict the use they make of their mobiles when they are accompanied by other people; as a result social relationships would definitely improve.

               Moreover, there should be public spaces free of wi-fi , even where mobiles would not work. This way it allows people to develop not only verbal language, but also non-verbal one, such as the use of body language which seems to be disappearing.

               To sum up, the most important solution is to make people aware of the loss of human contact linked to mobiles. The more you use your mobile, the more things you are missing in life. J