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In this episode: How to avoid personal questions

Congratulations to Beatriz Asensi Gallardo on passing the FCE exam! You are an FCE girl now!

Listener Feedback: Rafael
Reza, tú lo haces bastante bien lo de pronunciar español, sin embargo a Craig si, que le cuesta un poco más, y no acabo de entenderlo porque a veces he oído los años que lleva Craig en España, ¡y son muchos!
Creo que alguna vez habéis dicho que lleváis desde 1998….a veces pienso en ello y me imagino viviendo en Inglaterra tantos años y (creo) que hablaría inglés como un nativo….
(bueno, tampoco estoy muy seguro de ello) os pido perdón, porque la mayoría de las veces os escribo en español, pero, aunque os lo entiendo todo….no soy capaz de “colocar este rollo” (get this out/across) en inglés….
Bueno, espero que Craig no se moleste con mi comentario y si fuera así, le pido disculpas por adelantado…Un saludo afectuoso, Rafael

Hi Craig and Reza,
How are you doing? I’m Pepe Calvo, a 51 years old (51-year-old) self-taught English student. I started to learn English on my own in my mid-forties and thanks to the Internet and the help from podcasts like yours I think I’m getting it.
From the beginning I also started to practise with English natives, who are retired and live nearby, and it was tough but now I’m really proud to be able to follow a conversation more or less fluently.
I don’t spend any time studying, nor do I do exercises and things like that, I think the key is to listen to English – the more you can, the better, and in addition, speak, read, write and watch
(documentaries are my favourites) in English as much as you can. I call it “my little linguistic immersion” and I think it works, doesn’t it?
Nowadays, I am listening to your podcasts but I’m not up to date with them yet and I’m wondering if you’ve already got the ‘dulce de leche’ recipe, have you? If not, it is the least I can do for you to express my gratitude.
It is really easy, my mom used to make it when I was a kid, here you are:

Dulce de Leche recipe

Thank you very, very much for your generosity sharing your work for free, it is a great help for people like me, I really appreciate it! I live in Tortosa, not too far from you, if there is something more I can do for you, you only have to ask.
Listen to you soon!

Compound adjectives

The journey lasts three hours – It’s a three-hour journey
It’s a 10-kilometre trip – The trip is 10 kilometres
How to avoid personal questions

How to avoid personal questions

What kind of questions, and in what kind of situations, could be difficult, inappropriate and/or embarrassing?

• filling in a form
  applying for a service or product (online or face to face)
  meeting someone for the first time and making small talk
  job interviews

(to deflect – desviar)

Are the following expressions “Asking a personal question”(Q) or “Responding to a personal question”(R)?

Why do you ask? (R)
That’s got nothing to do with you. (R)
I know this is a bit personal, but… (Q)
Can I ask you a personal question? (Q)
That’s rather a personal question. (R)
I hope you don’t mind me asking, but…(Q)
I’m afraid that’s none of your business. (R)
I’d rather not answer that (if you don’t mind). (R)
I know this is a bit nosey, but…(Q) (nosey = entrometido/a, indiscreto/a, ‘meter las narices’)
Mind your own business! (R) SHOWS ANNOYANCE
I don’t mean to pry, but….(Q) – (to pry – entrometerse)
I’m sorry to say I’m not prepared to answer that. (R)
No comment. (R)
I don’t want/wish to comment on that. (R)
If you don’t mind, I’d like to ask….(Q)
Would it bother you if I asked…(Q)
I’ll understand if you don’t want/wish to answer, but…(Q)
I’d rather you asked me something else. (R)
Forgive me for asking, but…(Q)
If it’s not too personal,…(Q)
Let’s change the topic, (shall we?) (R)
You’ve got some nerve asking that! (R) SHOWS ANNOYANCE
That’s for me to know (and you to find out – SHOWS PLAYFULNESS) (R)

Practice

I know this is a bit nosey, but how much money do you earn? – Let’s change the topic, shall we?
Forgive me for asking, but are you married? – I’d rather not answer that if you don’t mind.
I don’t mean to pry, but how much do you weigh? – Why do you ask? Perhaps we should move on to another topic.
I hope you don’t mind me asking, but how much rent do you pay for your flat? – Why do you ask?
I hope you don’t mind me asking, but have you ever taken drugs? – No comment!
Forgive me for asking, but how much did you pay for that shirt? – Let’s change the topic.
How old are you? – Let’s change the topic, shall we?
I know this is a bit nosey, but who did you vote for in the last election? – I’d rather not answer that, if you don’t mind.
Have you got a boy/girlfriend?
Do you fancy anybody? / Do you have a crush on anybody?
I know this is a bit personal, but how many people have you slept with? – I’d rather not answer that, if you don’t mind.
Did you sleep with her/him last night? – Mind your own business!!
How do you make your humous so tasty? What’s your secret recipe/ingredient?
I don’t want to pry, but what size trousers do you take? What size are you?

(to have a crush on someone – encapricharse con alguien)

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Reza and I want to thank italki for sponsoring Aprender Inglés con Reza y Craig.

Thank you to Mamen for sending in the audio feedback on her italki experience.

Discussion:

Are there any other questions that you don’t like answering?

vague – vago/a, impreciso/a
…and now it’s your turn to practise your English. We want you to tell us about a time when you were asked a personal question.
Send us a voice message and tell us what you think. speakpipe.com/inglespodcast

Send us an email with a comment or question to [email protected] or [email protected].

On next week’s episode: The Past Perfect tense (simple and continuous) with special guest (and published author) Mike Hardinge

The music in this podcast is by Pitx. The track is called ‘See You Later’