I think I may have sprained or broken my wrist. I'd like to have it X-rayed, please.

You have had an accident and have gone to A&E - the accidents and emergencies department - at the hospital.

Sprained. A sprained wrist. (Adjective.) I've sprained my ankle. (Verb.) It's also a noun - I have a bad sprain.

To sprain a joint - wrists and ankles are the common ones - it means to damage the joint or the tendons by violently bending the wrist / ankle etc. the wrong way. Very painful.

I may have broken - may means possibly. I have possibly broken my wrist.

When we use modal verbs (like may) in the past tense, the structure is: may / must etc. + present perfect.

I may + have + sprained it.

I'd like to have it X-rayed. Could someone X-ray it please?

To have something done (to have + something + past participle) is a passive structure.

We could say 'I need to have my eyes checked,' for example, which means 'I need to find an optician who will check my eyes.'

This sentence is an example of modal verbs, may, modal verbs + present perfect, medical.

How much notice do you need for moving out?

This is something you might say if you are trying to rent somewhere to live.

Move out. It means to take all of your things out of the flat and stop living there. The opposite is move in. These are both phrasal verbs.

Notice. To give the landlord notice means to say in advance that you will be moving out on a certain date.

Notice is usually a month, so if you want to move out on the 31st of August, you need to tell the landlord of your intentions on the 31st of July.

However, maybe the landlord only requires 2 weeks' notice.

You can also give notice in a job - you tell the boss you are going to leave on a certain date.

e.g. 'Are you still working at the bank?' 'Yes, but I handed my notice in last week. I'll be leaving at the end of the month.'

This sentence is an example of houses, renting a flat, phrasal verbs.

Are you registered with a GP?

You have had an accident and have gone to A&E - the accidents and emergencies department - at the hospital.

A nurse asks you: 'Are you registered with a GP?'

GP is short for General Practitioner and means a doctor who typically works in a small, local clinic, not a hospital.

Are you registered with a GP? means 'who is your doctor?'

If you are only visiting the UK, the answer will probably be 'no.'

If you do have a doctor, say 'yes' and tell the nurse his or her name.

If you'd like to get a GP, you need to go to a clinic and say 'I'd like to register with a doctor, please.'

You go to your GP if you are feeling unwell.

You only go to A&E if you have a real medical emergency, like you have just cut your finger off, for example.

This is an example of a passive sentence: to be + past participle.

Are you + registered...? It's easier than asking 'did you go to a clinic and register with a doctor?'

This sentence is an example of medical, passive voice (get), information on britain.

Is it near the tube? Is it on a bus route?

This is something you might say if you are trying to rent somewhere to live.

It = the flat / house.

The tube is only found in London. It means underground train (station).

In America you would say the subway, which in England means a tunnel under a road for pedestrians.

On a bus route. Do buses go past the flat?

This sentence is an example of houses, renting a flat, public transport.

Does the rent include bills?

This is something you might say if you are trying to rent somewhere to live.

Rent = the money you pay each week/month.

Bills = the money you have to pay for utilities (electricity, gas, water, telephone, etc.)

You are asking if you have to pay bills in addition to the rent or if it is one all-inclusive price.

Answer: Yes: you don't pay for bills. No: you have to pay extra for bills.

Something you might hear in a flat-share is 'we split the bills between us,' which means that the bills are divided between the tenants and everyone pays an equal amount.

This is an example of a question in the present tense: does + the rent / it + infinitive.

Does + the rent + include (bills)?

This sentence is an example of 'do' in questions, houses, renting a flat, money.

How much is the deposit? Do you need references?

• This is something you might say if you are trying to rent somewhere to live.
• The deposit. This is the amount of money you have to pay in advance on top of the rent. The landlord (the owner of the flat / house) will return the money to you when you leave if the flat is still in good condition.
• References. These are letters from another landlord to say that you are a good tenant.
• References. Listen carefully to this word. How many syllables are there?
• How much = how much money.

This sentence is an example of houses, renting a flat, money.

And you? What’s your learning styleI am a visual learner

Identificar o nosso estilo de aprendizado pode ser muito importante na escolha de uma metodologia de estudos. O psicólogo americano Howard Gardner disse que existem sete estilos de aprendizado: Linguistic – you learn by using language (listening, reading, speaking and writing) Logical – you learn by applying math formulas or scientific principles Visual – you learn by seeing what you are learning about Musical – you learn better by using music Kinesthetic – you learn by moving and physical activities Intrapersonal – you learn by relating what you are learning to yourself Interpersonal – you learn by understanding and working with other people

GROUND

 ‘ground’. Há uma diferença entre ‘ground’ e ‘floor’(chão) com este significado.

Lembre aí: ‘chão’ no sentido de ‘piso’ é ‘floor’; porém, ‘chão’ de rua, de solo batido, etc é o ‘ground’. Logo, se eu falo ‘I’ll sit on the floor’ é diferente de dizer ‘I’ll sit on the ground’. Na primeira, estou dizendo que vou sentar no ‘piso’, ‘assoalho’. Já na segunda, estou dizendo que vou sentar no ‘chão’.

Além de ‘chão’, o termo ‘ground’ também pode ser interpretado como ‘solo’. Neste caso é preciso notar as palavras que podem estar por perto. Por exemplo, ‘sandy ground’, ‘solo arenoso’; ‘stony ground’, ‘solo pedregoso’; ‘firm ground’, ‘solo firme’; ‘damp ground’, solo úmido’; etc. Este fenômeno de palavras que atraem certas palavras é que nos ajudam a entender melhor a combinação é o que chamamos de collocations.

 Agora vamos aprendê-la como ‘terreno’. Neste caso ajuda muito também saber que palavras combinam [collocations]. Ou seja, anote aí que ao ouvir ou ler a combinação ‘open ground’ a pessoa estará se referindo a ‘terreno descampado’. É neste caso que entra também o ‘waste ground’, que significa ‘terreno baldio’ [em inglês também dizemos ‘wasteland’].

No inglês americano ‘ground’ também se refere ao ‘fio terra’. Os britânicos preferem dizer ‘earth’ mesmo e sem complicações. Assim sendo, caso você escute alguém perguntando ‘hey, did you ground the computer?’, não se preocupe. O que a pessoa está dizendo é ‘ei, você aterrou o computador?’ ou ‘ei, você fez o aterramento do computador?’.

Como muitas palavras em inglês ‘ground’ é usado também em algumas expressões que são usadas com certas frequência por eles. Uma delas é ‘be on a shaky ground’. Ou seja, caso alguém diga ‘well, I must admit that I’m on a shaly ground’, a pessoa quer dizer que ela não tem muita certeza sobre os fatos que está falando, ela está incerta, está dizendo algo sem muitas certificações que comprovam o que é dito.

A mesma expressão – ‘be on a shaky ground’ – é usada para descreve um plano, uma ideia, um projeto que pode não dar muito certo. 

Frases de situações reais

1. É por sua conta, é com você: To be up to you Ex: I´ll get the food ,but the drinks are up to you. (Eu vou arrumar a comida, mas a bebida é por sua conta.) Ex: I´ll call everyone, but the rest is up to you. (Eu vou ligar para todo mundo, mas o resto é com você.) 2. Temperamental: Moody Ex: He´s quite moody at work. (Ele é bastante temperamental no trabalho.) Ex: Women are moody. (As mulheres são temperamentais.) 3. Colocar alguém no paredão (exigir resposta, explicação): Nail sb down Ex: She nailed him down. (Ela o colocou no paredão.) 4. Surto(de doença): Outbreak Ex: There is an outbreak of Dengue Fever in Rio de Janeiro. (Há um surto de dengue no Rio de Janeiro.) 5. Vávula de escape (maneira de aliviar): Outlet Ex: It seemed it was her outlet for stress. (Isto parecia ser sua válvula de escape para o stress.) 6. Conciliar: Combine Ex: He finds it difficult to combine a career and family. (Ele acha difícil conciliar uma carreira com uma família.) 7. Fazer pesquisa de preços, comparar preços: Shop around Ex: Shop around before you buy. (Pesquise e compare antes de comprar.) 8. Põe difícil, barato, etc nisso: Talk about difficult, cheap, etc. Ex: She´s angry. Talk about angry . She´s tried to punch him.(Ela está nervosa. Põe nervosa nisso. Ela tentou dar um soco nele.) 9. Marqueteiro político: Spin doctor Ex: They hired a spin doctor. (Eles contrataram um marqueteiro.) 10. Pergunta: Question Ex: The question that won´t go away. (A pergunta que não quer calar.) 11. Ficar fora de casa, na rua: Stay out Ex: He stayed out all night. (Ele ficou na rua a noite toda.) 12. Embromar, enrolar: String along Ex: She´s just stringing you along. She´ll never call you. (Ela só está de enrolando. Nunca vai te ligar.) 13. Ser igual a falar com a parede: Be like talking to a brick wall Ex: Talking to you is like talking to a brick wall. (Falar com você é igual falar com as paredes.)

What's the easiest way of getting there on public transport?

• Way = method.
• The easiest / best way of doing something. The most simple / most effective method of doing something.
• E.g. the best way of learning English is to live in England for a year.
• Public transport - this is the simplest way of saying by bus, train, or underground.
• Get there = arrive there.
• Of getting there: this is an example of preposition + gerund.
• ...Of getting there. ...Of travelling there.
• The easiest is an example of a superlative. Easy / easier / easiest.
• Adjective / comparative / superlative.

This sentence is an example of superlatives, houses, renting a flat.

When can I come and see it?

• This is something you might say if you are trying to rent somewhere to live.
• This means: 'when can I come and look at the room/flat to see whether I want to live there or not?'
• It = the room / the flat
• Remember that, as it's a question, it's not 'I can come…' but 'can I come…?'

This sentence is an example of houses, renting a flat.

I'm calling about the flat-share. Is the room still available?

• This is something you might say if you are trying to rent somewhere to live.
• I'm calling about… this suggests that you are on the phone, but you could also say this after knocking on the door of the flat.
• If you are at the flat, you could also say 'I'm here about the flat-share.'
• Flat-share. Flat = apartment. A flat-share is when you share / live in a flat with others - probably strangers.
• Available - is the room still vacant / for rent?
• This is quite common in London, for example, where rent is very high.
• I'm calling: I am calling. This is the present continuous tense.
• You are calling right now.

This sentence is an example of houses, renting a flat, present continuous tense.

We're looking to rent a two-bedroom flat.

• This is something you might say if you are trying to rent somewhere to live.
• We're/ I'm looking to do something. This is an expression which means you intend to do something.
• I'm looking to buy a new car. (I want to buy one and I am looking for one.)
• To rent: this is different to buy.
• Rent - you pay money for the flat / car etc. and then you return it to the owner.
• Buy - you pay for it...you own it.
• Flat? Another word for flat is apartment. It's a place where you live but it's not a house. It has only one floor and usually it's in a block of flats, with flats above and below it.
• Two-bedroom flat. Two-bedroom is a compound adjective - that is, an adjective made up of more than one word.
• When we write words like this we need to use a hyphen. (-) e.g. a red-haired boy. A blue-eyed girl.

This sentence is an example of houses, renting a flat, intentions.

was surfing the net and I found a great website.

• Surfing the net. This is when you spend some time just looking at different websites.
• You may not be looking for anything specific, just looking around - or 'browsing' which is another way of saying surfing.
• You can also browse in a shop - it's when you are looking around the shop and not necessarily planning on buying anything.
• 'Can I help you?' 'No, thanks, I'm just browsing.'
• It's the same with the Internet - you are not looking for anything specific.
• The net is short for Internet.

Why don't you google it?

• You know the search engine 'google?'
• Well, now google is a verb. To google.
• I'm going to google it.
• I think I'll google it.
• I googled it.
• It means to use a search engine (maybe not even google) to find something on the Internet.

This sentence is an example of computers, technology.

I was on the Internet for two hours last night.

• What's the Internet? It's a worldwide series of interconnected computer networks which is accessible to the public.
• When we talk about activities related to the Internet we always say on the...
• Where's Jim? He's on the Internet. (He's using the Internet.)
• I found it on the Internet.
• I always read the news on the Internet.
• I study English on the Internet.

This sentence is an example of computers, technology.

I need to upgrade from dial-up to a broadband connection.

To upgrade. Think of up + grade (level.) to upgrade is to go up to a higher level, to improve. If you upgraded your computer you might sell your slow, old one and buy a new iMac, for example. Dial-up. The old fashioned type of Internet connection which uses a modem and a telephone line - typically a very slow connection. Broadband. A more modern type of connection to the Internet which is much faster than dial-up. (broad means wide.) This sentence is an example of computers, technology.

These days I generally text people rather than make phone calls.

• To text. This is a very English phenomenon.
• Text is really a noun - a text is something you read.
• However, the English language is quite versatile and often nouns are just turned into verbs.
• That's what happened here.
• To text someone means to send a text (written)message to that person's mobile phone.
• e.g. He just texted me.
• I'll text him.

This sentence is an example of telephones, technology.

Jim's mobile must be switched off. I just got his voice mail.

• Mobile = mobile phone - the phone you carry in your pocket.
• Voice mail. This means answering machine.
• I got his voice mail. This means that he didn't answer and I listened to his recorded message.
• Switched off. The power is off.

This sentence is an example of telephones, technology.

I spend loads of time chatting on MSN.

• To spend time: this means to pass time. E.g. I work from 9.00 to 5.00. I spend eight hours at work.
• Spend loads of time… loads of is a colloquial, informal way of saying lots of time.
• To chat means to talk (informally / casually) with someone.
• Chatting. There are lots of different 'chat rooms' on the Internet where you can 'talk' to people (that is, chat with people) by typing messages to them.
• MSN provides just one chat-room service out of many.

I'm going to upload some photos to my website.

• Upload. This is the opposite of download.
• You download (take) files etc. from a website and put them on your computer.
• You upload files from your computer and put them on a website.
• Website? Our website is www.linguagum.com

This sentence is an example of computers, technology.

I've just downloaded a new ring tone for my mobile phone.

:

• To download. This means to take something from the Internet (a document, a song, a photo) and install it (put it / save it) on your computer / phone.
• Ring tone. The noise your mobile phone makes to tell you someone is calling you..
• Phones generally don't just go 'ring ring' these days.
• They often play a song.
• Mobile phone. The phone you carry in your pocket.
• In the USA people usually 'cell phone.' (Cell is pronounced sell.)

This sentence is an example of telephones, computers, technology.