HAPPY NEW YEAR 2015!

If you are a new listener, welcome! Reza and I are going to help you improve your English and take it to the next level.

You can find more podcasts at inglespodcast.com and you can study English free at mansioningles.com.
In this episode: I like to go/I like going – Would/Could – I can’t help + gerund, I don’t feel like + gerund, I didn’t mean to + infinitive
News:

You can now leave us a voice message on the home page at inglespodcast.com. Just click the orange button and leave your message which should be no longer than 90 seconds.

Tell us a “Because of my English…” story. Because of my Spanish……..I had a better time travelling in Chile and Argentina. Because of his Spanish, Reza met some lovely people in Belfast.

Listener Feedback:

Hector, from Venezuela (Twitter) La expresion “I like to go on holiday” Porque se usa “to go” y no se usa “I like going on holiday”? ‘going’ como gerundio.

You can use both. They are both correct.

I like getting up early / I like to get up early.
Craig likes to get up early because of the result. He doesn’t like the activity of getting up early.

Email from Sonia:
Hi, Reza and Craig,

I’m a new listener of your podcast, I found it by chance surfing on iTunes and I’m delighted with it.
Last night I listened to the podcast on Clauses and Sentences (AIRC35) and I felt that you weren’t sure about how to say the PHRASE in Spanish: it is SINTAGMA.
Sintagmas usually have a “surname”, just like in English you say Noun Phrase we say Sintagma Nominal (or “adjetival”, “verbal”, “adverbial”, and “preposicional”.

I hope it helps; you help me with my English and I just wanted to help you with your Spanish.

Thank you for your podcasts! Sonia

John. Email – I listen to your podcast when I return to my home by train every evening and the time flies (Great expression, John!).
I have a question for you. When do I use the modal verb would and when I need to use could?

Thank you very much

COULD is related to CAN. Both are modal verbs. Could is the past of can and the conditional. Could = podría OR podía (could is both the CONDITIONAL and THE PAST of CAN).

If I won the lottery. I would buy a big house.

(could in the conditional = would + be able) “If I won the lottery, I could (would be able to) buy many things. (Craig and Reza speak about conditional sentences in Episode 11

If you could change a law or introduce a new law, what law would you change or introduce?

Craig WOULD introduce a 4-day working week. That way he COULD have a 3-day weekend.
Use COULD and COULDN’T for ability in the past

Could and couldn’t are the past forms of can and can’t (for ability):

When Reza was a child he could run very fast. Now he can’t!

When Craig lived in London, he could drive on the left.

In the UK we couldn’t sit outside in Novenber and drink coffee. It was too cold!
Use COULD for possibilities in the future: We could go out for a beer tonight if you feel like it.
Use COULD (and WOULD) to make polite requests:

Could/Would you please sit nearer to the microphone?
Could/Would you pass me the salt, please?

Could and would are also used in reported speech.

“I WILL see you tomorrow”, said Reza.

Reza said that he WOULD see me tomorrow.

“CAN you lend me 50 euros?”

Craig asked if Reza COULD lend him 50 euros.

Reza is afraid that he couldn’t (can’t) lend Craig any money!
Past tenses and forms are often more polite:

I was wondering….
Could you…”podría usted…”
Would you…

Would you like a cup of tea? Would you like a biscuit? (Polite offer)

Remember not to put “to” after modal verbs like ‘could’, ‘would’, ‘should’, ‘may’, ‘might’, ‘must’ etc.
Pau from my FCE class
1) It’s impossible for me not to laugh when he starts singing. – I can´t HELP LAUGHING when he starts singing.

I can´t HELP LAUGHING when he starts singing (No puedo evitar reírme cuando empieza a cantar)

Craig can’t help eating chocolate when it’s in front of him.
2) I really don’t want to go out this evening. – I really don’t FEEL LIKE GOING out this evening.

I really don’t FEEL LIKE GOING out this evening. (Realmente no me apetece salir esta noche)

Reza doesn’t feel like doing all the corrections that he has to do. Craig doesn’t feel like working this afternoon.
3) It’s obvious he shot himself in the foot by accident.- He obviously DIDN’T MEAN TO SHOOT himself in the foot.

He obviously DIDN’T MEAN TO SHOOT himself in the foot. (Obviamente, él no tenía intención de pegarse un tiro en el pie.)

Can’t help doing something (gerund)
I don’t feel like doing something (gerund)
I didn’t mean to do something (infinitive)

Pronunciation:

biscuit – Craig and Reza both love biscuits

minute (noun) I’ll be there in a minute / minute (adjective) A minute particle (a very small particle)

cut (up, bus, uncle)

laugh (car, far)

VEGetables (3 syllables – the first syllable is stressed)

Vocabulary: Home – In the Garden

césped – lawn (to mow the lawn / to cut the grass)

banco – bench

camino/sendero – path

carretilla – wheelbarrow

cobertizo – shed

estanque – pond

fuente – fountain

invernadero – greenhouse/Hothouse

malas hierbas – weeds

manguera – hosepipe

pala – spade, shovel

carbonera – coal bunker

cavar – to dig (the garden, the weeds)

seto – hedge (hedge fund – fondo de cobertura)
If you need help with a question about grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation or anything related to English, send us an email to [email protected] or [email protected].

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The music in this podcast is by Pitx. The track is called See You Later – licensed by creative commons under a by-nc license at ccmixter.org.