Level 1 (A1) :: Unit 4

Gramática

Verbos modales
En inglés hay un grupo especial de verbos llamados modales, o verbos
modales. Este es un grupo especial de verbos auxiliares (hay muchos verbos
similares en otras lenguas).

can, could
may, might
shall, should
will, would
must
Los verbos modales son diferentes a los otros verbos. Estas son las cuatro
principales diferencias:

1. Los infinitivos no llevan "to"

Como sabes, el infinitivo debe ser precedido por "to". Sin embargo, después de
un verbo modal, el siguiente verbo siempre estará e infinitivo, pero SIN "to", por
ejemplo: "can" + "to swim" - I can swim.

2. La tercera persona singular no lleva -s

Los verbos modales no llevan una -s en la tercera persona singular (he, she, it)
- Ann can speak English very well.

3. No utlizan el auxiliar "do"

Las preguntas y negaciones con los verbos modales no usan el verbo "do".
Mira cómo funciona una pregunta con "can" y una negación con "must": - Can
she help you?, You must not do this.

4. No hay infinitivos ni formas acabadas en -ing (participio)

En los verbos modales no existe una forma precedida por "to" o una forma que
termine en "-ing": to must, caning, musted

Verbo modal "can" – Poder/saber

Negación
(persona + can + objeto)

I can read. - Puedo leer.

You can write. - Puedes escribir.
He can sing. - Puede cantar.
She can cook. - Puede cocinar.
We can swim. - Podemos andar.
You can play football. - Podemos jugar al futbol.
Level 1 (A1) :: Unit 4

They can speak Polish. - Pueden hablar polaco.

Formación de preguntas
(can + persona + objeto)

Can you drive a car? - ¿Puedes conducir un coche?

Can he speak English? - ¿Puede hablar inglés?
Can they cook? - ¿Puede cocinar?
Can cooks cook? - ¿Pueden los cocineros cocinar?
Can Maciek speak Polish? - ¿Maciek puede hablar polaco?
Formación de la negación
(persona + can't / cannot + objeto)

Dogs cannot fly. - Los perros no pueden volar.

Cats cannot swim. - Los gatos no pueden nadar.
Your brother can't speak English. - Tu hermano no puede hablar inglés.
I can't read. - No puedo leer.
You can't write. - No puedes escribir.
Your parents cannot cook. - Tus padres no pueden cocinar.
Respondiendo preguntas sí/no - (Yes, persona + can) o (No, persona + can't):
Can you drive a car? - ¿Puedes conducir un coche?
Yes, I can. - Sí, puedo.
Can you cook? - ¿Puedes cocinar?
No, I can't. - No, no puedo.
Can your mother cook? - ¿Tu madre puede cocinar?
Yes, she can. - Sí, puede.
Preguntas con palabras interrogativas (palabra interrogativa + can + persona + objeto):
What can you do? - ¿Qué puedes hacer?
What can cooks do? - ¿Qué pueden hacer los cocineros?
Who can drive a car? - ¿Quién puede conducir un coche?
Who can swim? - ¿Quién puede nadar?
Which child can read? - ¿Qué niño puede leer?
Which animals can fly? - ¿Qué animal puede volar?
Se usa la palabra "which?" cuando estamos eligiendo entre un número limitado de opciones.
Se usa la palabra "what?" cuando estamos eligiendo entre un número grande de opciones.
I keep six honest serving-men

(They taught me all I knew):

Their names are What and Why and When

And How and Where and Who.

(Rudyard Kipling)

La estructura "would like"

Positivo (afirmativo)
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I / you / she / he / we / you / they would like to... - Me/te/le/nos/os/les gustaría...(infinitivo)

(infinitive)
I would like to live in England. - Te gustaría vivir en Inglaterra.
You would like to live in England. - Le gustaría vivir en Inglaterra.
She would like to live in England. - Le gustaría vivir en Inglaterra.
We would like to live in England. - Nos gustaría vivir en Inglaterra.
They would like to live in England. - Les gustaría vivir en Inglaterra.
Formación de preguntas
Would I / you / she / he / we / you / they like to ... ? - ¿Me/te/le/nos/os/les gustaría... ?
Would I like to live in England? - ¿Me gustaría vivir en Inglaterra?
Would you like to live in England? - ¿Te gustaría vivir en Inglaterra?
Would she like to live in England? - ¿Le gustaría vivir en Inglaterra?
Would we like to live in England? - ¿Nos gustaría vivir en Inglaterra?
Would they like to live in England? - ¿Les gustaría vivir en Inglaterra?
Formación de la negación
I / you / she / he / we / you / they would not - No me/te/le/nos/os/les gustaría...
like to...(infinitive) (infinitivo)
I would not like to live in England. - No me gustaría vivir en Inglaterra.
You would not like to live in England. - No te gustaría vivir en Inglaterra.
She would not like to live in England. - No le gustaría vivir en Inglaterra.
We would not like to live in England. - No nos gustaría vivir en Inglaterra.
They would not like to live in England. - No les gustaría vivir en Inglaterra.
En el inglés cotidiano "would not" se abrevia a "wouldn't".
Ej: I would not like to live in Germany. = I wouldn't like to live in Germany.
Level 1 (A1) :: Unit 4

Uso de Ingles

Palabras claves
Days of the week
Wordlist Lista de Example
palabras
Monday Lunes

Tuesday Martes

Wednesday Miércoles

Thursday Jueves

Friday Viernes

Saturday Sábado

Sunday Domingo

weekday días de la semana

the weekend fin de semana Are you doing anything nice this weekend?

week semana The training programme lasts three weeks.

tomorrow mañana Rita's spending money like there's no tomorrow.

What's the time? ¿Qué hora es?

midnight media noche We close at midnight. The midnight train to Glasgow

morning mañana We're leaving on Tuesday morning.

night noche They travelled by night and slept during the day

day día Have a nice day!

evening tarde Mick often goes to the pub in the evening.

afternoon tarde We went swimming on Tuesday afternoon.

to cook cocinar Mmm! That's delicious! Where did you learn to cook like
that?
to dance bailar She danced with me until 3am at a bar downtown.

to drive conducir I can drive a car.

foreign extranjero Can you speak any foreign languages?

free time tiempo libre

Level 1 (A1) :: Unit 4

to hear oír Can you hear me?

to help ayudar Can I help you?
language lengua How many languages do you speak?
musical instrumento
instrument musical
piano piano
violin violin
guitar guitarra
saxophone saxofón
drums tambores the steady rhythmic beating of the drums
to play tocar I play the guitar.
radio radio an interesting programme on the radio this morning
to turn up subir (el Turn up the radio please.
volumen)
to ride cabalgar I'm learning to ride.
to run correr I had to run to catch the bus.
to sing cantar We all enjoy singing carols at Christmas.
to swim nadar My dad taught me to swim.
to ski esquiar We went skiing in Colorado last winter.
tennis tenis
golf golf
football futbol watching football on TV | a football club
to speak hablar Do you speak English?
basketball baloncesto
bicycle bicicleta She goes to work on her bicycle. Can James ride a
bicycle yet?
sport deporte My favourite sports are tennis and swimming.
horse caballo
game juego Dan's never liked card games.
appointment cita an appointment with the doctor at 10.30
conference conferencia a scientific conference on the ozone layer
to agree estar de acuerdo Do you agree with corporal punishment?
also también She owns several houses in Leeds and also has business
interests in Manchester.
because porque I do it because I like it.
bus bus I go to work by bus.
cigarette cigarrillo a packet of cigarettes
country país Pakistan became a fully independent country shortly
after the Second World War.
drink beber After that news I need a stiff drink!
election elección The Socialists won the 1948 election by a huge majority.
to gamble apostar Jack loves gambling on the horses.
to get married casarse I'm going to get married.
home casa Sherri said she misses friends and family back home.
Level 1 (A1) :: Unit 4

into en Look into the box.

to leave dejar Leave your wife and go with me.
lorry camión It fell off the back of a lorry (it's stolen!)
moped ciclomotor
motorbike motocicleta
part-time tiempo parcial Jenny has got a part-time job.
school escuela Mum takes us to school every morning.
to smoke fumar Don't smoke!
to vote votar If we can't agree, we'll have to vote on it.
until hasta Gary was working for IBM until 1969, when he got a job
at Sperry.
why por qué Why do you say that?
all right bien
arrangement arreglos What exactly are the arrangements for the wedding?
cinema cine What's on at the cinema?
diary agenda Did you put the meeting date in your diary?
to finish acabar Have you finished?
to go shopping ir de compras
to have lunch comer I'm starved. Let's have some lunch.
lunch comida Rory went to lunch in a small Italian restaurant.
to make hacer I'm going to make a cake for Sam's birthday.
manager administrador Can I speak to the manager?
OK bien Do you feel OK now?
receptionist recepcionista
report informe Write a report on everything that was said.
somewhere algún lado My car keys are around here somewhere.
to spend gastar to spend a lot of money
to visit visitar "Do you live here?" "No, we're just visiting."
visitor visita They were expecting visitors and had cleaned the house.
when cuándo When is Tara coming?
heart corazón Eating too much fatty food is bad for the heart.
I love you Te amo Listen guys, you're going to love this.
Squash squash
(Sport)
Level 1 (A1) :: Unit 4

Brian has got some books from Spain and Italy. He can speak Spanish but he
can't speak Italian. He wants to learn Italian. His younger brother Graham can't
speak Spanish or Italian but he can speak Ukrainian. Graham can also type in
Ukrainian. Their father, Philip, is blind. Because Philip can't see, he can't read
ordinary writing. He can read Braille, a special alphabet, and has got a machine
on his computer so that he can use the internet. Philip's wife Ludmilla comes
from Ukraine. She can speak Ukrainian because it is her first language. She
can't speak English as well as Philip and the rest of the family can, but she can
understand it.

The family have got a farm in Derbyshire, in England. They have to get up early.
One of them has to get milk from the cows. Another has to collect the eggs from
the hens. They don't have to give food to the cows because the cows can eat
the grass in the field. They have to give food to the hens. This food is called
'chicken feed'.

The family can't go on holiday together. One or two people have to stay on the
farm because they have to look after the animals.

They can sell the eggs and milk at the market. The market is five kilometres
away so they have to drive there. They have a big car so they can carry
everything in it. They have to be careful with the eggs so that they don't break.

Philip can't drive because he is blind. Graham can't drive either because he
doesn't have a driving licence. The other two can drive.
Level 1 (A1) :: Unit 4

Dialogue 1

- Excuse me, do you have the time?

- Yes, it's a quarter to three.

- Thank you.

(...)

Dialogue 2

- Passenger announcement. The next train for London arrives at fourteen

twenty-eight at platform two.

(...)

Dialogue 3

- Is the newsagent's open?

- Not yet. It's half-past five. They open at six in the morning.

(...)

Dialogue 4

- Hello. Can you tell me what time the film starts?

- Certainly. Which film? There are two.

- Two?

- Yes. The Sound Of Music starts at seven forty and Silent Running starts at
eight.

- Eight o'clock. Thank you.

Level 1 (A1) :: Unit 4

(...)

Dialogue 5

- There are two boats every day to the island. They are at ten thirty in the
morning and two thirty in the afternoon.

(...)

Dialogue 6

- Here is your key, sir. Breakfast is from seven thirty to nine o'clock. Lunch is
twelve o'clock to one. Dinner is five fifteen to six.

(...)

Dialogue 7

- Let's put the television on for the news.

- But the news is not on. The news is on at nine and it's only eight.

- Oh, yes.

(...)

Dialogue 8

- Welcome aboard the eight o'clock train to Edinburgh. We stop at York at

eleven forty-five, Newcastle at fourteen twenty and then Edinburgh at sixteen
hundred. We hope you have a pleasant journey.

(...)

Dialogue 9

- Repair service.

- Hello. My washing machine needs repairs. My customer number is oh nine

nine five nine eight.

- Ms Ellis, how can we help?

- I need someone to fix the washing machine. When can you come round?

- We can come round today.

- Today? That's brilliant!

- Yes, we can come round some time between two and three in the afternoon.
Level 1 (A1) :: Unit 4

- Thank you very much.

- See you later.

(...)

Dialogue 10

- Two cartons of milk, a packet of coffee and that's it.

- Let's see. That comes to fourteen pounds twenty-two pence.

- Ten, twelve, fourteen pounds and ten, twenty, twenty-two pence. There you
are.

- Thank you.

- Goodbye.

- Goodbye.
Level 1 (A1) :: Unit 4

Conversación

Días y fechas
weekdays - Días y fechas

Monday - lunes

Tuesday - martes

Wednesday - miércoles

Thursday - jueves

Friday - viernes

weekend - fin de semana

Saturday - sábado

Sunday - domingo

Números ordinales
in the morning / the evening / the - por la mañana / la tarde / la tarde
afternoon.

at night / at noon / at midnight - por la noche / al mediodía / a la medianoche

The meeting is in February. - La reunión es en febrero

We usually have beautiful spring in March. - Normalmente tenemos una primavera

hermosa en marzo

Are you free on Monday? - ¿Estás libre el lunes?

I have to go work on Saturday. - Tengo que trabajar el sábado

I've got exams on Tuesday and - Tengo exámenes el martes y el miércoles

Wednesday.

Do you work at the weekend? - ¿Trabajas el fin de semana?

Level 1 (A1) :: Unit 4

I usually relax at the weekends. - Normalmente me relajo los fines de semana

Do you work on all weekdays? - ¿Trabajas todos los días de la semana? (de lunes a
viernes)

On weekdays I feel very tired. - Los fines de semana me siento muy cansado

When are you leaving? - ¿Cuándo te vas?

Can we meet tomorrow at 6 p.m.? - ¿Nos podemos reunir mañana a las 6 PM?

Tiempo
Números ordinales
Excuse me, what time is it? - Perdón ¿qué hora es?

What's the time, please? - ¿Qué hora es, por favor?

a.m. - AM

p.m. - PM

It's 4 o'clock. - Son las 4 en punto

It's 7 p.m. - Son las 7 PM

A quarter of an hour
a quarter - un cuarto

a quarter to 5 - cinco menos cuarto

a quarter past 9 - las 9 y cuarto

Abreviaciones
It's twenty past three p.m. - Son las tres y veinte PM 3:20 p.m.

It's 4 past 6 a.m. - Son las seis y cuatro AM 6:04 a.m.

It's half past four. - Son las cuatro y media 4:30

What time do you go to bed? - ¿A qué hora te acuestas?

I go to bed at half past eleven. - Me acuesto a las once y media 11:30

Se dice "past" los primeros 30 minutos después de una hora y "to" los 30
minutos antes.

It's 10 to 3. - Son las 3 menos 10 2:50

It's 23 to 9 p.m. - Son las 9 menos 23 PM 8:37 p.m.

What time do you finish work? - ¿A qué hora acabas de trabajar?

At two to two. - A las dos menos dos. 1:58

Diálogos de ejemplo
Level 1 (A1) :: Unit 4

Diálogo 1
 What time does the train to Brighton depart?  ¿A qué hora sale el tren a Brighton?
 At 10:23.  A las 10:23
 And what time does it arrive?  ¿A qué hora llega?
 After two hours, at 12:23.  Después de dos horas, a las 12:23
 Thank you.  Gracias.

Diálogo 2
 What do you usually do on Fridays?
 I go to school at 8 a.m. then I come
back home at twenty past four p.m.
 What do you do next?
 At 6 p.m. I usually go to the cinema or
theatre. Then at 8 p.m. we usually go
to a disco and dance until a quarter to
twelve at night. I come back home at 2
a.m. and at the weekends I sleep till 1
p.m.
 Isn't in boring?
 No, it isn't. I like sleeping a lot. Then I
have lunch at about 2 p.m. and I feel
really relaxed.
 ¿Qué haces normalmente los viernes?
 Voy a las escuela a las 8 AM y luego regreso
a casa a las cuatro y veinte PM.
 ¿Qué haces luego?
 A las 6 PM normalmente voy al cine o al
teatro. Luego a las 8 PM normalmente
vamos a la discoteca hasta las doce menos
cuarto de la noche. Regreso a casa a las 2
AM y los fines de semana duermo hasta la 1
PM.
 ¿No es aburrido?
 No, no lo es. Me gusta dormir un montón.
Luego almuerzo cerca de las 2 PM y me
siento muy relajado.

Escritura

Características personales
nice / rude - agradable / maleducado

happy / sad - feliz / triste

shy / bold - timido / audaz

serious / funny - serio / divertido

friendly / unfriendly - amigable / no amigable

stubborn / flexible - testarudo / flexible

lazy / hard-working - flojo / trabajador

polite / impolite - cortés / maleducado

talkative / quiet - conversador / callado

outgoing / introverted - extrovertido / introvertido

Level 1 (A1) :: Unit 4

intelligent / stupid - inteligente / estupido

Describir la apariencia física

I'm...
tall / short - alto / bajo

fat / slim - gordo / delgado

beautiful / good-looking / handsome / pretty / - hermoso / de buen aspecto / guapo / bonito /

ugly feo

elegant / unfashionable - elegante / sin gusto para vestir

middle-aged / old / young - mediana edad / viejo / joven

bald - calvo

clean shaved - bien afeitado

Afro-Caribbean / white / native American - afro-caribeño / blanco / indígena americano

attractive / ugly - atractivo / feo

She's quite / not very / very / rather tall. - Ella es bastante / no muy / muy / más bien alta
You've got...
long / short hair - pelo largo / corto

dark / fair hair - pelo negro / claro

an oval / square face - cara ovalada / cuadrada

brown / blue eyes - ojos marrones / azules

a moustache - un bigote

a beard - una barba

Preguntas
Apariencia
What does he / she it look like? - ¿Qué aspecto tiene él /ella?

Have they got long hair / blue eyes / a mustache? - ¿Tienen pelo largo / ojos azules / bigote?

Are you tall / short? - ¿Eres alto / bajo?

How old is he? - ¿Qué edad tiene?

How tall is he? - ¿Cuánto mide?

Is he slim? - ¿Es delgado?

How much does he weigh? - ¿Cuánto pesa?

What colour eyes have they got? - ¿Qué color de ojos tiene?
Level 1 (A1) :: Unit 4

Carácter
What is she / he like (as a person)? - ¿Cómo es él/ella (como persona)?

What are they like? - ¿Cómo son ellos?

Is Chris friendly? - ¿Es Chris amigable?

Are Pat and Ron intelligent? - ¿Son Pat y Ron inteligentes?

Respuestas
Apariencia
Tom looks like an actor. - Tom parece un actor.

He's tall and handsome, and he's got long, - Es alto y guapo, y tiene cabello largo y claro.
fair hair.

He's 20 years old / middle-aged / about 40. - Tiene 20 años /es de mediana edad / tiene
apróximadamente 40.

We're are quite tall and fat, but we're are - Somos bastante altos y gordos, pero somos atractivos.
attractive.

I weigh about 55 kilos. - Peso apróximadamente 55 kilos.

He's got dark, blue eyes. - Tiene ojos azules oscuro.

She / he looks like her moher / father. - Ella / él se parece a su madre / padre.
Carácter
She's very nice and quiet and I like her a lot. - Ella es muy agradable y tranquila y me gusta
mucho.

They aren't very lazy but they don't like - No son muy perezosos pero no les gusta trabajar.
working.

He's not very happy now. He failed an exam. - No está muy feliz ahora. Ha fallado un examen.

Texto de ejemplo
My girlfriend is 28 years old. She's really
attractive and many people look at her in the
street when we walk together. She's rather
short, about one metre sixty. She doesn't
weigh much. She's got long brown hair and
big dark brown eyes. She also has a very
beautiful, oval face. She's very intelligent and
funny, too. She can tell jokes and she's very
polite even if somebody is rude to her. She
works as an HR manager in a big company in
France. I really like spending time with her.
Mi novia tiene 28 años. Es muy atractiva y mucha
gente la mira en la calle cuando caminamos juntos.
Es más bien baja, aproximadamente de un metro
sesenta. No pesa mucho. Tiene cabello largo y
marrón y ojos grandes y marrones oscuros, Tiene
también una cara ovalada muy hermosa. Es muy
inteligente y también divertida. Sabe decir bromas y
es muy cortés, incluso si alguien es maleducado con
ella. Trabaja como administradora de recursos
humanos de una gran compañía en Francia. Me gusta
mucho pasar tiempo con ella.