English – Página: 7 – Cortando Caminhos

F.R.I.E.N.D.S – The one where it all began – Pilot – 1st Season

When I finished my English course I knew I had a lot to learn, and watching friends helped me a lot with it. Studying English with a sitcom or a movie is one of the best ways to memorize vocabulary. Here it is how you should do it:

Watch it with the subtitles and pay attention to the vocabulary you don’t know.
Watch it with the subtitles and see how much you can remember and please check the vocabulary you don’t remember to memorize it.
Watch it without the subtitles.
Have fun learning it.

These are some of the vocabularies from the episode:

When finding a word in Portuguese is somewhat hard, you will notice that I use English for the definition, this way helps to start thinking in English. I hope you make the best of it.

Hump – cordunda, corcova

Hairpiece – peruca

Chalk – giz

Murky – dark

To sob – sobbed – sobbing – to cry noisily while breathing in short sudden bursts

Strip joints – a strip club

hammer – martelo/arrasar (coloquial, figurativo)

Decaf – spoken decaffeinated coffee or tea

Gravy – sauce

Continue lendo

Passive Voice

Passive voice is really easy when you understand its rules.

You are going to use passive voice when the focus is not in the agent, but in the action.

Those pyramids were built around 400 AD.

Too many books have been written about the Second World War.

The structure for the passive voice is:

To be + Past Participle of the main verb.
The object of the sentence becomes the subject of it.
To be is going to be in the same tense of the main verb.
If you want to mention the agent of the action you can usually use by to introduce it.
And remember that Portuguese can help you with this subject.

Active Voice = AV Passive Voice = PV

AV: I made a cake. PV: A cake was made (by me).

The main verb (made) is in the past, so to be is going to be in the past.

Past Participle of the main verb: make = made.

AV: She writes books. PV: Books are written (by her).

The main verb (write) is in the present, so to be is going to be in the present.

Past Participle of the main verb: write = written.

and so on…

AV: She is going to write a book. PV: A book is going to be written (by her).

AV: She will write a book. PV: A book will be written (by her).

AV: She would write a book. PV: A book would be written (by her).

AV: She has written a book. PV: A book has been written (by her).

AV: She can write books. PV: Books can be written (by her).

AV: She could write books. PV: Books could be written (by her).

F.R.I.E.N.D.S – The one where Chandler can’t remember which sister – 3rd Season

Art bought in New York City from a street artist.

Watch it with the subtitles and pay attention to the vocabulary you don’t know.
Watch it with the subtitles and see how much you can remember and please check the vocabulary you don’t remember to memorize it.
Watch it without the subtitles.
Have fun learning it.

These are some of the vocabularies from the episode:

When finding a word in Portuguese is somewhat hard, you will notice that I use English for the definition, this way helps to start thinking in English. I hope you make the best of it.

Noose – laço que aperta conforme se puxa
The noose – enforcamento
Whip – chicote; chicotear
Punch line – fechamento de uma piada ou estória que a faz ficar engraçada ou surpreendente
Gassy – cheio de gás
ASAP – Assim que possível
Stick it out – ir até o final de uma atividade que é difícil, chata ou dolorosa.
Demeaning – sem importância
I don’t mind paying my dues – eu não me importo de começar por baixo para conseguir o que quero
To sort – por em ordem
Shots – bebidas (drinks)
Hammered – muito bêbado
Grope – passar a mão
To tick somebody off – Irritar alguém
Bummer – uma situação que é irritante ou decepcionante
Be Giddy – estar muito feliz
Pushy – excessively or unpleasantly self-assertive or ambitious. – agressivo, intrometido.
Collar – gola
Baggy pants – calça folgada
Top-notch – having the highest quality of standard – é o melhor
Squint – to look at sth with your eyes partly closed in order to see better – olhar de soslaio
Jump the gun – to start doing sth too soon, without thinking – agir prematuramente
Den – a room in Sb’s house where they can relax, watch TV
Paper route, paper round – to delivery newspapers to a group of house (a job)
To eavesdrop – escutar secretamente, bisbilhotar
Pogo stick – pula-pula

Conditional Sentences with if Clauses

This is a post about the basics of if clauses.

In clauses after if, we usually talk about uncertain events and situations: things which may or may not happen, which may or may not be true, etc.

If you’re free later, we can go for a walk.

If they’re hungry, I’ll make some sandwiches.

First Conditional (it’s a real conditional)

We use the first conditional to talk about a realistic situation in the present or future.

If + present + will/may/must/imperative/can + verb

If we play tennis, I’ll win.

If you’re not back by 5pm, give me a ring.

Second Conditional (Unreal, imaginary situations in the present or future)

We use the second conditional to talk about unreal or imaginary situations in the present or future.

If + past + would/could + verb

If I had more time, I’d exercise more. (But I don’t have more time so I don’t.)

*If I were rich, I’d spend all my time travelling. (But I’m not rich so I can’t.)

If she saw a snake, she’d be terrified.

If I knew her name, I would tell you.

* if I were

After if we often use were. This is common in both and formal styles

If I were taller, I’d be happier.

Third Conditional (Unreal, imaginary situations in the past)

We use the third conditional to talk about unreal or imaginary situations in the past.

If + past perfect + would have/could have + Past Participle

If you had asked me, I would have told you.

If you hadn’t forgotten her birthday, she wouldn’t have been upset.

Zero Conditional

We use the zero conditional to talk about permanent truths, such as scientific facts, and general habits. The structure is simple:

Here are some examples:

If you heat water to 100°, it boils.

If you eat a lot, you put on weight.

If it doesn’t rain for a long time, the earth gets very dry.

If we go out with friends, we normally go to a restaurant.

If I’m tired, I go to bed early.

Sources:

Book: Practical English Usage – Michael Swan e www.wallstreetenglish.com

Used to x to be used to

MEMORIES - USED TO — FONTE: https://meditatiienglezaploiesti.files.wordpress.
com/2014/07/i-used-to-exercise-but-im-fine-now_25291.jpg

Trecho do livro: Como Não aprender inglês – Michael A. Jacobs

Este livro é muito didático, aprendi muito com ele quando comecei a estudar inglês. Quando coloco DB é porque eu fiz a tradução.

Used to

Used to é uma expressão, uma forma e um phrasal verb. Cuidado para não confundi-la com o verbo to use (usar). Veja os seguintes exemplos com o verbo to use:

Brazilians usually use a knife and fork to eat pizza. (Brazileiros normalmente usam garfo e faca para comer pizza)
Americans usually eat pizza using their fingers. (Os americano normalmente comem pizza com as mãos) . Chamamos os pratos assim consumidos de finger food.
Mr. Jones sometimes uses a three-piece suit for work in the cold weather. (O Sr. Jones às vezes usa um terno de três peças quando o tempo está frio)

O verbo to use no passado é used.

I used a sweater because it was so cold. (Eu usei um suéter, pois estava tão frio).

Agora, caro leitor, esqueça o verbo to use, pois ele nada tem a ver com a expressão used to.

Used to tem dois sentidos totalmente diferentes. Eis aqui o primeiro.

Used to (I)

Coloca uma ação no passado. Descreve algo que você, alguém ou algo fazia no passado regularmente, durante algum tempo, mas já não faz mais.

I used to live in England (eu morava na Inglaterra, não moro mais)

DB: Eu costumava morar na Inglaterra

I + used to + verb

Nesse caso, used to pode ser:

Um hábito – Mary used to bite her nails. Thank God she’s stopped that disgusting habit. (Mary roía as unhas. Graças a Deus ela deixou esse hábito nojento).
Uma atividade – Guilherme used to play a lot of tennis: now that he is older he plays golf.
Uma situação – Dinosaurs used to exist 60 million years ago

Então used to + o verbo descreve uma atividade que não acontece mais.

Used to (II)

To be used to – quando utilizamos essa forma de used to (com o vebo to be), afirmamos que agora estamos acostumados com uma nova situação.

Michael is now used to living in Brazil (Michael agora está acostumado a viver no Brazil).
Mary is now used to having beautiful nails (Mary agora costuma ter unhas lindas).
Guilherme is used to playing golf with his friends (Guiherme está acostumado a jogar golfe com seus amigos).
I was used to living in France, but I had to move (eu estava acostumado a morar na França, mas tive de me mudar) .
He has been used to cooking for his friends for many years (ele está acostumado a cozinhar para seus amigos há muitos anos).

Você percebeu que used to + verbo é exclusivo para o passado, to be used to pode variar de tempo verbal.

Agora, mais exemplos para reforçar as diferenças:

USED TO

Larry used to study very hard at college (DB: Larry costumava estudar muito na faculdade)
Jane used to eat lots of red meat (Jane comia muita carne vermelha)

TO BE USED TO

Now he is used to working very hard at his company (Agora ele está acostumado a trabalhar muito na sua empresa)
Today she is used to eating only vegetables (Hoje ela está acostumada a comer apenas legumes).

As diferentes formas do used to parecem mais difíceis para o estudante brasileiro porque em português os verbos “costumar/acostumar” são empregados com flexibilidade para descrever situações passadas. A frase “Jane comia muita carne vermelha”, por exemplo, pode ser substituída por “Jane costumava comer muita carne vermelha”. Em inglês, qualquer alteração pode mudar completamente o significado ou o tempo em que a ação ocorre. O melhor é parar com as traduções mentais.