17/06/2019
¿QUÉ ES "THE ENGLISH CENA"?
Through my own experience of learning languages, my most significant improvements have occurred when I was having fun with the language and meeting interesting people! That's why I've created THE ENGLISH CENA!
The English Cena is a place where you can:
- Build your confidence in English
- Speak with English native speakers
- Practice English in a social setting
- Overcome your fears in a friendly environment
- Have fun while you are learning
- Eat some tasty Spanish food
- And make new friends!
If you are interested, click on the link below and reserve your seat!
THE ENGLISH CENA
THE ENGLISH CENA creates an opportunity for you (Spanish speakers) to practice your English in a social environment. HOW IT WORKS You will have dinner at a table of 4 where you will be able to speak with a different native speaker for each course: Starter - Gary from London - Focus: Sports Main Cour...
28/02/2019
"NEXT WEEK" O "THIS WEEK"
This can create a huge amount of confusion and can result in you turning up (phrasal verb...hmm, I know how much you LOVE them!) for a meeting on the wrong day!
For the purposes of this point, let's assume that today is Monday!
If you are setting up a meeting for "el jueves que viene" you need to say:
"I will see you this Thursday"
For some reason, it is very tempting for Spanish speakers to say "I will see you next Thursday" but this is not a good idea because a "nativo" will think that you are talking about "El jueves de la semana que viene".
So, try to get it clear in your mind when "this" and "next" should be used because it can avoid a lot of misunderstandings!
Hope that helps!
Daniel Smith - Tu coach inglés
NUEVO LIBRO: 365 Consejos para mejorar tu inglés - Elimina tu spanglish y habla como un nativo - Ya a la venta en Amazon (Papel + Kindle)
27/02/2019
¡UNA PREGUNTA EN LA CAMA!
Don't worry, I'm not going to ask you anything about your personal life!
The reason for this title is that there is a certain type of question in English that Spanish speakers find very difficult and these are called "embedded questions!"
Rather than give you a long explanation about the grammar associated with this, I am going to give you an example of a common mistake I hear all the time:
"Do you know, where is my book?"
Wow, yes, I hear that all the time. Even from English "cracks" :)
So, why it is wrong? Well, when you start a question with "Do you know..." this becomes an "embedded question" which means you need to alter the second part of the question.
"Where is my book?" is fine as a question BY ITSELF but not when it is preceded by "Do you know..."
So, what is the correct version? Well, you need to put the verb at the end of the question:
"Do you know, where my book is?"
"Do you know" is only one example of how you can start an embedded question. Here are some others:
- Can/Could you tell me...
- Would you happen to know...
Hope that helps!
Daniel Smith - Tu coach inglés
NUEVO LIBRO: 365 Consejos para mejorar tu inglés - Elimina tu spanglish y habla como un nativo - Ya a la venta en Amazon (Papel + Kindle)
26/02/2019
A QUIEN PUEDA INTERESAR: existen alternativas a “to whom it may concern”!
Ever had to reach out to someone whose name nor position you know? Despite today’s connectivity and social media, this is actually still a fairly common occurrence!
Many people (including native English speakers) like to begin these outreach emails with ‘to whom it may concern’ (a quien pueda interesar/a quien corresponda). Now there’s nothing actually wrong with it, except it’s actually a little outdated and may come across as a little lazy!
Here are some alternatives you can consider trying:
✔️ Address the recipient(s) by their role. Eg.
If you’re sending in your CV: Dear Hiring Manager or Dear Hiring Committee
If you’re trying to reach the CMO: Dear Marketing Director
✔️ Time of day: Good morning/afternoon.
✔️ Gender neutral: Dear Sir/Madam.
✔️ Start friendly. Depending on the industry you’re in, a simple ‘hello’ or ‘hi there’ may suffice.
Hope that helps!
Daniel Smith - Tu coach inglés
NUEVO LIBRO: 365 Consejos para mejorar tu inglés - Elimina tu spanglish y habla como un nativo - Ya a la venta en Amazon (Papel + Kindle)
25/02/2019
¿VAS CON RETRASO? A wise man once told me: to be on time is to be late.
This is especially so in a business environment, where punctuality is absolute key!
Certain cultures are more flexible when it comes to punctuality but others can be extremely strict.
For British people, a two-minute delay can come across as being rude, so you really want to be careful there!
But understandably, every once in a while there are just delays that are unanticipated and completely out of your hand. When that happens, make sure to give a heads-up.
✔️ Something just cropped up at the last minute. I’ll be 10 minutes late.
✔️ I just got out of another meeting that lasted longer than expected. I’ll be with you in 10 minutes.
✔️ I’m running a little late but I should be there in 10 minutes.
And obviously, don’t forget to include an apology in your message! It’ll also be wise to do so again at the end of your meeting.
Hope that helps!
Daniel Smith - Tu coach inglés
NUEVO LIBRO: 365 Consejos para mejorar tu inglés - Elimina tu spanglish y habla como un nativo - Ya a la venta en Amazon (Papel + Kindle)
22/02/2019
FORMAL INTRODUCTIONS
Imagine you are at a conference and you meet someone and you think they could be a useful contact. Your boss is on the other side of the room and you reckon that it would be good to introduce your new contact to him/her.
So, how do you go about doing this?
Well, the first sentence you need to know is:
"Let me introduce you to my boss"
Easy.
Then comes the difficult part because as you approach your boss, you will need to introduce them to each other. This is where you can fall into a trap because Spanish speakers will have this is their mind:
"Jose, el es Juan"..."Juan, el es Jose"
and Spanish speakers are likely to translate it like this:
"Jose, he is Juan"..."Juan, he is Jose"
Try to avoid this. It isn't the worst mistake in the world but in English, we don't say it like that. We say it like this:
"Jose, this is Juan"..."Juan, this is Jose"
I know that might sound strange, especially because it could seem like you are saying "Jose, esto es Juan" but as you already know, English is strange sometimes!!!
Hope that helps!
Daniel Smith - Tu coach inglés
NUEVO LIBRO: 365 Consejos para mejorar tu inglés - Elimina tu spanglish y habla como un nativo - Ya a la venta en Amazon (Papel + Kindle)
21/02/2019
¿QUÉ SENTIDO TIENE “THIS MAKES NO SENSE”?
A while ago I spoke about the word ‘nonsense’ and some of you asked if ‘this makes no sense’ had the same negative connotation.
Well, the answer is yes… and no!
Spanish speakers think this have more or less the same connotation as ‘no tiene sentido’ or ‘no le veo el sentido’. But in English it’s actually quite different!
As feedback, ‘this makes no sense’ is not as insulting as ‘this is nonsense’. But it may still come across as a little too offensive and personal.
So how can you walk that fine line of voicing your disagreement while being firm yet polite at the same time?
Voice YOUR opinion. Use “I” sentences instead of attacking the decision.
✔️ I find this…
✔️ I think this is…
✔️ I respectfully disagree.
Choose an adequate adjective or phrase that’s not too personal or insulting.
✔️ Unacceptable
✔️ Unsatisfactory
✔️ Not up to par
✔️ Can be improved
Hope that helps!
Daniel Smith - Tu coach inglés
NUEVO LIBRO: 365 Consejos para mejorar tu inglés - Elimina tu spanglish y habla como un nativo - Ya a la venta en Amazon (Papel + Kindle)
20/02/2019
LADIES & GENTLEMEN...¿CÓMO DEBERÍA EMPEZAR UNA PRESENTACIÓN EN INGLÉS?
The best overall answer to this issue is that you should try to involve your audience as much as possible!
People have a very limited attention span and when you include them in the process they can remain engaged in your message for a much longer period of time.
A great way to achieve this is by asking your audience a question! When you do this each and every person in the room needs to think about their response and this, in turn, means that people are much more connected to your message.
Of course, you need to be brave to do this, especially because questions are the one element where many Spanish speakers make mistakes!
Anyway, here is some inspiration in terms of questions:
How many of you know that...?
Can anyone tell me what...?
Does anyone know what...?
Who thinks this statement [on the screen] is correct?
These types of questions energise your audience in a way that a pure information-based presentation never will!
Hope that helps!
Daniel Smith - Tu coach inglés
NUEVO LIBRO: 365 Consejos para mejorar tu inglés - Elimina tu spanglish y habla como un nativo - Ya a la venta en Amazon (Papel + Kindle)
19/02/2019
¿Sabes cómo pedir ayuda a un compañero siendo educado y asertivo, pero no autoritario… en inglés? La clave está en los pequeños detalles.
❌ I need ‘X’ document. Do you know where it is?
✔️ I can’t seem to find where the document on ‘X’ is. Could you help me locate it?
Al decir ‘I need this’ lo dejas todo en sus manos. Explicar a la otra persona por qué necesitas que haga algo le da contexto a la petición y la hace más razonable.
❌ Send me (the link to) the document on ‘X’.
✔️Could you send me the document on ‘X’?
El imperativo (‘send me’) suena autoritario, como si estuvieras exigiendo algo. ‘Could’ es más educado.
❌ Could you send me ‘X’ document by Tuesday?
✔️ Please, send me the ‘X’ document by Tuesday.
La opción más asertiva es pedirlo por favor poniendo un deadline, en vez de preguntar.
Hope that helps!
Daniel Smith - Tu coach inglés
NUEVO LIBRO: 365 Consejos para mejorar tu inglés - Elimina tu spanglish y habla como un nativo - Ya a la venta en Amazon (Papel + Kindle)
18/02/2019
SETTING UP AN AGENDA FOR AN EFFICIENT MEETING IS KEY - Todos hemos estado en meetings largos e improductivos en los que no había una agenda clara.,, pero si los participantes son de distintos países, creo que la agenda es crucial.
El idioma exige un extra de preparación.
Para comunicar en inglés de forma eficiente los puntos clave de una reunión, lo mejor es ser directo. Os dejo algunas frases útiles para que todo el mundo llegue preparado a la sesión:
✔️ Here’s the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting.
✔️ I would like to touch on the following topics.
✔️ Please come prepared with your reports.
✔️ Please review the attached documents in preparation for the meeting.
✔️ Matt will be taking notes to be sent out after the meeting.
Hope that helps!
Daniel Smith - Tu coach inglés
NUEVO LIBRO: 365 Consejos para mejorar tu inglés - Elimina tu spanglish y habla como un nativo - Ya a la venta en Amazon (Papel + Kindle)
15/02/2019
"ENTRE PITOS Y FLAUTAS"
I have heard this expression many times when I have been with Spanish speakers but I was not sure how to translate it!
From my research, I found out that there is another expression that is similar:
- entre unas y otras cosas
So, what is the best way to think about these expressions in English?
Entre pitos y flautas = Between whistles and flutes?
Entre unas y otras cosas = Between some and other things?
Maybe not...
Well, let's look at some specific examples:
- Entre pitos y flautas los uniformes de mis niños me han costado 200 euros.
- What with one thing and another, the school uniforms for my kids came to over 200 euros.
- Entre unos y otras cosas, no ha sido posible llegar a tiempo.
- Between one thing and another, I wasn't able to arrive on time.
Hope that helps!
Daniel Smith - Tu coach inglés
NUEVO LIBRO: 365 Consejos para mejorar tu inglés - Elimina tu spanglish y habla como un nativo - Ya a la venta en Amazon (Papel + Kindle)
13/02/2019
FALLOS COMUNES: "YOU LIKE SPEAKING ENGLISH, NO"?
If you say this, then I can tell you, that you aren't alone. I think there are very few people who I have spoken to in Spain who have got a good grip (buen conocimiento) of "question tags".
The reason Spanish speakers say this incorrectly is because they are thinking of:
"¿Te gusta hablar en inglés, no?" or "Te gusta hablar en inglés, verdad?"
Your brain wants to translate this directly and therefore we get this:
"You like speaking English (statement), no? (incorrect question tag)"
The general rule here is that the question tag needs to include the appropriate auxiliary verb. If that sounds complex, here are some examples:
"You like speaking English, don't you?"
(Present simple = auxiliary verb "do")
"Your brother is playing tennis, isn't he?"
(Present continuous = auxiliary verb "is")
"You went to Japan last year, didn't you?"
(Past simple = auxiliary verb "did")
"You have seen the report, haven't you?"
(Present perfect = auxiliary verb "have")
That is a very simple explanation but hopefully, it will help a little!
Daniel Smith - Tu coach inglés
NUEVO LIBRO: 365 Consejos para mejorar tu inglés - Elimina tu spanglish y habla como un nativo - Ya a la venta en Amazon (Papel + Kindle)
