English Teaching

Monday, March 17, 2014

Saint Patrick's Day

History of Saint Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day Parade in Dublin, capital of Ireland, is part of a festival that lasts five days and it is atended by more than 675,000 people in the year.

Parades also take place in other Irish towns and villages. Other large parades include those of Belfast (Northern Ireland).

Sunday, February 02, 2014

Uses of to take verb

to take a back seat	poner en segundo plano
to take a bow	hacer una reverencia
to take a chance	arriesgarse
to take a dim view on something	ver algo con malos ojos
to take a fancy to	quedarse prendado de
to take a hike	irse a freír espárragos

When I started to work as a doctor, my personal life kind of took a back seat.
The actor who played Macbeth received a standing ovation and he took a bow.
Sam wasn't sure which way to turn so he took a chance and turned left.
My parents took a dim view on my marriage because I was too young.
Al never liked jazz but all of a sudden he took a fancy to swing music.
This drunkard kept asking me for a dime so I told him to take a hike.

[+] Ver más

to take a hint	captar una indirecta
to take a joke	aceptar una broma
to take a leaf out of someone's book	seguir el ejemplo de alguien
to take a powder	salir corriendo
to take a shine to	sentir simpatía por
to take a stand	adoptar una postura

I said I was tired, Peter took the hint and we went home.
Frank, don't get so angry! Can't you take a joke? He was just kidding.
You should take a leaf out of your brother's book and study hard.
We were writing grafitti on a wall but we took a powder when a teacher came.
Our son took a shine to our neighbors' children. They play together all the time.
The Mayor has to take a stand on the matter and settle it.

to take advantage of	aprovecharse de
to take as gospel	tomar por cierto
to take by storm	tomar por asalto
to take by surprise	tomar por sorpresa
to take effect	entrar en vigor
to take exception to	ofenderse por

Taxi drivers often take advantage of tourists.
When I was a boy, I took everything my dad said as gospel.
Our band is taking Europe by storm but can't seem to make it at home.
The President's sudden death took the whole world by surprise.
This is an old law, it took effect in 1963.
Aunt Ruth took exception to your forgetting her birthday.

to take five	tomarse sinco minutos de descanso
to take flight	darse a la fuga
to take for granted	dar por sentado
to take heart	animarse
to take into account	tener en cuenta
to take issue with someone	discrepar con alguien

All right, take five and then come back, we still have a lot to do.
The robbers took all the money they could and then took flight.
I used to take my parents for granted but now they're far away I need them.
Joe was afraid of flying but one day he took heart and took a plane to New York.
Beth got the job because they took into account that she speaks five languages.
Ed's friend took issue with him on the war on terrorism.

to take it easy	tomárselo con calma
to take it on the chin	aguantar algo con resignación
to take it or leave it	tomarlo o dejarlo
to take it personally/to heart	ofenderse por algo
to take it with a pinch of salt	tomárselo con pinzas
to take its toll	afectar

After the heart attack, my father had to take it easy and stay home for a while.
Robert's going through a lot of bad things but he's taking it on the chin.
Either you come with us or you stay at your aunt's. Take it or leave it.
I only said she looked a little tired but she took it to heart!
Stan lies a lot, you should take what he says with a pinch of salt.
Sitting in the sun at the wrong hours will really take its toll on your skin.

to take kindly to	gustar
to take leave of your senses	perder completamente la cabeza
to take one's cue from someone	seguir el ejemplo de alguien
to take one's hat off to someone	quitarse el sombrero ante alguien
to take one's lumps	llevarse los palos
to take pains	tomarse la molestia

Mr. Jefferson does not take kindly to being late for work.
Is that Joan rolling in the mud? Has she taken leave of her senses?
Mike took his cue from his father and went to Med school.
I take my hat off to the people who get up at 5 in the morning to go to work.
Kate knows what she did was wrong, she takes her lumps.
Hank took great pains to find a drugstore open last night and buy your medicine.

to take place	tener lugar, suceder
to take pot luck	tomar lo que haya
to take root	arraigar
to take someone at their word	decidir creerle a alguien
to take someone for a ride	tomarle el pelo a alguien
to take someone into one's confidence	confiar en alguien

The press conference will take place tomorrow at 9 o'clock at the Four Seasons hotel.
There were only two discos in town so we took pot luck and went to the first one we found.
Communism never really took root in the rest of the world.
Eva promised she would come to dinner so I took her at her word and made lasagne.
The guy told me he came from an aristocratic family but he was taking me for a ride.
Mr. Welsh took me into his confidence and told me the company was in trouble.

to take someone to task	criticar a alguien
to take someone's name in vain	hablar (mal) de alguien
to take someone's part	tomar partido por alguien
to take something in one's stride	tomarse algo con calma
to take something lying down	aceptar algo sin protestar
to take the bull by the horns	tomar el toro por las astas

Miss Harrison took Jimmy and Benny to task for talking in class.
We were taking your name in vain and telling nasty things about you.
No one ever takes my part at home, everything is always my fault!
The critics were fierce towards her performance but she took it in her stride.
When I was a kid and my parents told me off I never took anything lying down!
Martha finally took the bull by the horns and went to a rehab clinic.

to take the biscuit/cake	llevarse el premio
to take the edge off/sting out of something	suavizar algo
to take the heat off someone	darle un respiro a alguien
to take the law into one's own hands	hacer justicia por mano propia
to take the plunge	tirarse a la pileta
to take the rap	pagar el pato

Pam's husband is lazy but he also beats her. That really takes the biscuit.
The birth of Susan's grandson took the edge off her husband's recent death.
Fred's illness has taken the heat off his infamous brother.
If the state doesn't protect the citizens, they'll take the law into their own hands.
William took the plunge and asked Paula to marry him! At last!
The girl's mother takes the rap for the boy's murder and goes to jail.

to take the rough with the smooth	estar a las duras y a las maduras
to take the words out of someone's moouth	sacarle la palabra de la boca a alguien
to take the wind outof someone's sails	desanimar a alguien
to take to one's heels	salir corriendo
to take umbrage	ofenderse por algo
to take up the cudgels for something	romper una lanza por algo

Living together isn't easy, Meg. You have to take the rough with the smooth.
How did you know I was going to say that? You took the words out of my mouth!
I was going to tell the boss I quit but he told me I was promoted and it took the wind out of my sails.
We were having lunch by our tent when we saw a snake and we took to our heels.
Father O'Connor took umbrage when some people fell asleep during the sermon.
The government has taken up the cudgels against piracy.

source - http://www.shertonenglish.com/resources/es/idioms-phrases/idioms-take.php

Passive Voice

Comparative structures

If a big difference exists
far + comparative + than
nowhere near as + adjective + as
considerably + comparative + than
not nearly as + adjective + as
a great deal + comparative + than
twice/ten times as + adjective + as
get more and more + adjective

If a small difference exists
almost as + adjective + as
nearly as + adjective + as
slightly + comparative + than
not quite as + adjective + as

If no difference exists
as + adjective + as
not any + comparative + than
no + comparative + than