Up to You!!!

Curriculum Vitae

2011-07-10T23:11:00.003-03:00

A CV contains in brief all information about you that is relevant for the job: personal information, education, work experience etc. The CV shows what qualifications and experiences you have that make you an ideal candidate for the position.

Structure and Content

Personal Information
name, address, phone number, email, nationality, date of birth
Summary of Qualifications (where appropriate)
Work Experiences (current experiences first)
period of time, company name and address, position, brief description of your responsibilities and achievements
Education and Training (current experiences first)
period of time, name of institution, qualifications
Further Information
other skills (e.g. foreign language skills), additional information that may support your objective and qualifications

Tips

Marital status and place of birth are irrelevant for applications in the UK or USA. Neither should you give information on your primary or secondary school education if you already have plenty of work experience.

Cover Letter

2011-07-10T22:51:00.005-03:00

In most cases, the cover letter is your first contact with potential employers. Use this opportunity to make a strong and convincing impression, otherwise you may not get the attention you want.

Before writing, ask yourself why you are the right person for the job.

Which of your qualities might be essential for the job?
What contributions can you make to the company?

In your cover letter, emphasise why you are the ideal candidate for the position.

Structure and Content

Introduction
Mention where you found out about the job offer and show interest in the position.
Details
Give reasons for your application: Why are you the ideal candidate? What relevant qualifications, experiences do you have? (Important: refer to the requirements given in the job description.)
Conclusion
Demonstrate your interest in the position once more.

Note

Even if there are hundreds of experiences that you wish to emphasise on, keep your cover letter short (no longer than 1 page). Employers usually have to read lots of applications and usually cannot afford spending all day reading lengthy cover letters.

When writing a cover letter, keep to following rules:

Write an interesting cover letter that impresses the employer.
Emphasise on qualifications and experiences that are relevant for the job. Explain why you are the right person for the job.
Avoid negative statements (e.g. I have no / very view experiences ...).

Halloween

2010-10-24T00:57:00.004-02:00

O que significa Halloween?

Uma pergunta óbvia sobre o Halloween é, "O que a palavra significa?" O nome é, na realidade, uma versão encurtada de "All Hallows' Even"(Noite de Todos os Santos), a véspera do Dia de Todos os Santos (All Hallows' Day). "Hallow" é uma palavra do inglês antigo para "pessoa santa" e o dia de todas as "pessoas santas" é apenas um outro nome para Dia de Todos os Santos, o dia em que os católicos homenageiam todos os santos. Com o tempo, as pessoas passaram a se referir à Noite de Todos os Santos, "All Hallows' Even", como "Hallowe'en", e mais tarde simplesmente "Halloween".

Seguindo a tradição judaica, os cristãos consideram os dias santos do pôr do sol de um dia até o pôr do sol do dia seguinte. É daí que temos o costume de comemorar a véspera de Natal, de Ano Novo, etc. O antecessor direto do Halloween de hoje é a festividade que era iniciada no Dia de Todos os Santos, o qual começava ao pôr do sol do dia 31 de outubro.

Apesar de seu nome vir do Dia de Todos os Santos, o Halloween moderno é, na verdade, uma combinação de várias tradições diferentes. Na realidade, muitas das coisas que fazemos no Halloween antecedem completamente o cristianismo.

Some more slangs!

2010-10-19T01:16:00.004-02:00

Miffle: Nothing.
Example: A. What are you doing? B. Miffle.

Mint: Very cool. Everything's okay.
Example: That party was mint - good party.

Hack: To borrow something that you have no intention on paying back.
Example: Hey, lemme hack a cigarette from ya.

Half-cut: Drunk
Example: Kelly was so half-cut the other night she hit on Jay.

Some Humor

2010-07-27T13:15:00.000-03:00

Business Letters

2010-07-24T14:24:00.000-03:00

Click on the following link and get some important information about writing a business letter.
http://www.ego4u.com/en/business-english/communication/business-letter

Think about it...

2010-04-09T11:40:00.001-03:00

When you study another language it is necessary that you dedicate some time studying on your own. Just going to school is not enough...so, try to do something for your English outside the classroom too. It does not matter if you read, listen to music, watch movies, study grammar....do whatever you like, but do it!!

Conditionals

2010-02-03T23:56:00.004-02:00

Zero Conditional: certainty

We use the so-called zero conditional when the result of the condition is always true, like a scientific fact.

Take some ice. Put it in a saucepan. Heat the saucepan. What happens? The ice melts (it becomes water). You would be surprised if it did not.

IF	condition	result
	present simple	present simple
If	you heat ice	it melts.

Notice that we are thinking about a result that is always true for this condition. The result of the condition is an absolute certainty. We are not thinking about the future or the past, or even the present. We are thinking about a simple fact. We use the present simple tense to talk about the condition. We also use the present simple tense to talk about the result. The important thing about the zero conditional is that the condition always has the same result.

We can also use when instead of if, for example: When I get up late I miss my bus.

Look at some more examples in the tables below:

IF	condition	result
	present simple	present simple
If	I miss the 8 o'clock bus,	I am late for work.
If	I am late for work,	my boss gets angry.
If	people don't eat,	they get hungry.
If	you heat ice,	does it melt?

result	IF	condition
present simple		present simple
I am late for work	if	I miss the 8 o'clock bus.
My boss gets angry	if	I am late for work.
People get hungry	if	they don't eat.
Does ice melt	if	you heat it.

First Conditional: real possibility

We are talking about the future. We are thinking about a particular condition or situation in the future, and the result of this condition. There is a real possibility that this condition will happen. For example, it is morning. You are at home. You plan to play tennis this afternoon. But there are some clouds in the sky. Imagine that it rains. What will you do?

IF	condition	result
	present simple	WILL + base verb
If	it rains,	I will stay at home.

Notice that we are thinking about a future condition. It is not raining yet. But the sky is cloudy and you think that it could rain. We use the present simple tense to talk about the possible future condition. We use WILL + base verb to talk about the possible future result. The important thing about the first conditional is that there is a real possibility that the condition will happen. Here are some more examples (do you remember the two basic structures: [IF condition result] and [result IF condition]?):

IF	condition	result
	present simple	WILL + base verb
If	I see Mary,	I will tell her.
If	Tara is free tomorrow,	he will invite her.
If	they do not pass their exam,	their teacher will be sad.
If	it rains tomorrow,	will you stay at home?
If	it rains tomorrow,	what will you do?

result	IF	condition
WILL + base verb		present simple
I will tell Mary	if	I see her.
He will invite Tara	if	she is free tomorrow.
Their teacher will be sad	if	they do not pass their exam.
Will you stay at home	if	it rains tomorrow?
What will you do	if	it rains tomorrow?

Second Conditional: unreal possibility

The second conditional is like the first conditional. We are still thinking about the future. We are thinking about a particular condition in the future, and the result of this condition. But there is not a real possibility that this condition will happen. For example, you do not have a lottery ticket. Is it possible to win? No! No lottery ticket, no win! But maybe you will buy a lottery ticket in the future. So you can think about winning in the future, like a dream. It's not very real, but it's still possible.

IF	condition	result
	past simple	WOULD + base verb
If	I won the lottery,	I would buy a car.

Notice that we are thinking about a future condition. We use the past simple tense to talk about the future condition. We use WOULD + base verb to talk about the future result. The important thing about the second conditional is that there is an unreal possibility that the condition will happen.

Here are some more examples:

IF	condition	result
	past simple	WOULD + base verb
If	I married Mary,	I would be happy.
If	Ram became rich,	she would marry him.
If	it snowed next July,	would you be surprised?
If	it snowed next July,	what would you do?

result	IF	condition
WOULD + base verb		past simple
I would be happy	if	I married Mary.
She would marry Ram	if	he became rich.
Would you be surprised	if	it snowed next July?
What would you do	if	it snowed next July?

Third Conditional: no possibility/condition in the past

The first conditional and second conditionals talk about the future. With the third conditional we talk about the past. We talk about a condition in the past that did not happen. That is why there is no possibility for this condition. The third conditional is also like a dream, but with no possibility of the dream coming true.

Last week you bought a lottery ticket. But you did not win.

	condition	result
	Past Perfect	WOULD HAVE + Past Participle
If	I had won the lottery,	I would have bought a car.

Notice that we are thinking about an impossible past condition. You did not win the lottery. So the condition was not true, and that particular condition can never be true because it is finished. We use the past perfect tense to talk about the impossible past condition. We use WOULD HAVE + past participle to talk about the impossible past result. The important thing about the third conditional is that both the condition and result are impossible now.

Sometimes, we use should have, could have, might have instead of would have, for example: If you had bought a lottery ticket, you might have won.

Look at some more examples in the tables below:

IF	condition	result
	past perfect	WOULD HAVE + past participle
If	I had seen Mary,	I would have told her.
If	Tara had been free yesterday,	I would have invited her.
If	they had not passed their exam,	their teacher would have been sad.
If	it had rained yesterday,	would you have stayed at home?
If	it had rained yesterday,	what would you have done?

result	IF	condition
WOULD HAVE + past participle		past perfect
I would have told Mary	if	I had seen her.
I would have invited Tara	if	she had been free yesterday.
Their teacher would have been sad	if	they had not passed their exam.
Would you have stayed at home	if	it had rained yesterday?
What would you have done	if	it had rained yesterday?

Object Pronouns

2010-02-03T22:27:00.004-02:00

Os "object pronouns" servem para substituir algum objeto em uma frase, para evitar a repetição. Por exemplo:

- I bought a gift and gave the gift to my girlfriend.

Para evitar que a palavra “gift” seja repetida, utilizamos o pronome de objeto “it”:

- I bought a gift and gave it to my girlfriend.

Abaixo uma lista dos "object pronouns":

I – Me
You – You
He – Him
She – Her
It – It
We – Us
You – You
They – Them

Pronomes de objetos podem ser utilizados como objetos diretos e objetos indiretos.

Caso o objeto indireto estiver antes do objeto direto, não se usa preposição (to, for):

- Give me the book

Ou, se o objeto indireto estiver depois do objeto direto, usaremos uma preposição:

- Give the book to me

Idioms (animal)

2010-01-11T09:31:00.003-02:00

Take the bull by the horns = face the difficulties

Paul took the bulls by the horns and got the job done.

A New Word a Day...

2010-01-11T09:21:00.003-02:00

The following site is recommended so that you can improve your vocabulary...

http://wordsmith.org/awad/index.html

Click on "Today's word" to start.

Merry Christmas ou Happy Christmas?

2009-12-24T01:15:00.013-02:00

Na verdade a expressão "Happy Christmas" é utilizada na Inglaterra e na Irlanda, apesar de também usarem "Merry Christmas". Porém, nos EUA, "Merry" é utilizado no lugar de "Happy" para se desejar Feliz Natal.

Some Proverbs

2009-12-22T00:40:00.007-02:00

Watch the following proverbs and become wiser...hehehe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEj1wRx8NQU

Cuidado!!

2009-12-22T00:27:00.008-02:00

Muito cuidado ao se matricular num curso de idiomas. Não vá fazendo sua inscrição na escola x ou y só porque é cara ou barata, ou porque está na midia...procure indicação de alguém de confiança que já estude em alguma escola e possa te dar informações seguras.

Caso você não conheça a escola, pode comprar gato por lebre!! E o pior é que você só saberá que foi enganado depois de mais ou menos uns 2 anos!!!

Estude Inglês todos os dias...

2009-11-24T17:37:00.005-02:00

Quantas palavras posso aprender por dia? Dez palavras não é muito, é? Vamos tentar?? Você verá que conseguirá rapidinho!!!

Então, que tal tirar alguns minutos por dia (de segunda a sexta) para aprender 10 novas palavras??

Se possível, use os finais de semana para revisar o que estudou nas últimas semanas. Desta forma, em uma semana você terá aprendido 50 novas palavras. Isso significa 200 novas palavras por mês!!

Vamos!! Comece já!!!

How to use an apostrophe

2009-11-16T15:56:00.002-02:00

Click on the following link and check it out!!

http://apostrophe.me/

Commonly used teenage slangs on the Web

2009-11-10T14:47:00.012-02:00

1. Lol-means (laugh out loud)

2. GTG-means (got to go)

3. Brb-means (be right back)

4. BTW-means (by the way)

5. Boo-means (a boyfriend or girlfriend)

6. plz-means (please)

7. bbl-means (be back later)

8. iight-means (alright)

Slang definition

2009-11-10T14:41:00.003-02:00

A type of informal verbal communication that is generally unacceptable for formal writing. Slang words and phrases are often colorful exaggerations used to emphasize the speaker's point; they may also be shortened versions of an often-used word or phrase.

Examples of American slang from the 1990s include "yuppie" (an acronym for Young Urban Professional), "awesome" (for "excellent"), wired (for "nervous" or "excited"), and "chill out" (for relax).

Have some fun with cartons!!

2009-11-04T10:52:00.000-02:00

Atividades diversas para todos os níveis

2009-11-04T10:39:00.007-02:00

Quizzes, tests, exercises and puzzles to help you learn English as a Second Language (ESL)

http://a4esl.org/

Pronunciation Game

2009-10-30T19:31:00.003-02:00

Click no link abaixo e aprenda brincando!

http://www.starfall.com/n/level-a/learn-to-read/play.htm?f

English Proverbs (C-D)

2009-10-28T22:58:00.022-02:00

Clothes don't make the man = Appearances can be deceiving

Don't bark if you can't bite = Don't complain if you can't enforce your point of view

Don't count your chickens before they're hatched = You must not be too confident that something will be successful

Don't judge a book by its cover = Don't judge by appearances

Diferenças entre o inglês "britânico" e "americano"

2009-10-27T15:20:00.011-02:00

Ao contrário do que aconteceu com o português, que ao longo de 4 séculos se desenvolveu em dois dialetos substancialmente diferentes em Portugal e no Brasil, as diferenças entre os dialetos britânico e norte-americano não são tão significativas.

As diferenças entre o British e o American são principalmente de pronúncia. Também encontramos algumas diferenças de vocabulário, e pequenas diferenças na ortografia e na gramática.

Visite o link abaixo e veja alguns exemplos:

http://www.sk.com.br/sk-usxuk.html

É muito importante destacar que não existe certo ou errado em se tratando das diferenças entre o inglês britânico e o americano.

Ambos são corretos e ambos são semelhantes, mas cada um contém suas peculiaridades em termos de gramática, vocabulário e pronúncia.

RELATIVE CLAUSES

2009-10-24T16:10:00.002-02:00

Relative clauses são usadas para adicionar informações sobre alguma pessoa, lugar ou coisa. Elas são formadas por pronomes relativos: who para pessoas, which para coisas e where para lugares. Também podemos usar that no lugar de who ou which.

Abaixo há uma tabela dos pronomes relativos do inglês:

Who – usado para o sujeito ou pronomes pessoais. Ex: I told you about who lives here. (eu contei a você sobre quem vive aqui.)

Which – usado para sujeito ou pronomes para animais ou coisas. Ex: My dog, which is brown, is sleeping. (meu cachorro, que é marrom, está dormindo.)

Whose – tem o significado de “cujo”. Ex: Do you know the boy whose father is dead? (você conhece o garoto cujo pai está morto?)

Whom – usado para pessoas. Ex: I was invited by the professor whom I met at the conference. (eu fui convidado pelo professor que eu encontrei na conferência). Note que tem mesma aparência do “who”, mas só é usado em casos onde o pronome relativo não define (classifica, identifica) o sujeito/substantivo.

That – usado para sujeito, pessoas, animais, coisas, nos casos onde “define” alguma coisa. Ex: I do not like the car that is parked there (Eu não gosto do carro que está estacionado ali.)

Segue os dois tipos de relative clauses:

Defining relative clause fornece informações importantes:

Ex.: Mark’s the man who lives with me. (Mark é o homem que mora comigo.)

Ex.: That’s the farm where I grew up. (Esta é a fazenda onde eu cresci.)

Non-defining relative clause fornece uma informação extra, ou seja, não importante e é normalmente colocada entre vírgulas:

Ex.: The film, which I didn’t like, won an Oscar. (O filme, que eu não gostei, ganhou um Oscar.)

Ex.: My friend, who works with me, is an actress. (Minha amiga, que trabalha comigo, é uma atriz.)

Expressions, slangs and so on...

2009-10-17T16:12:00.004-03:00

A noite é uma criança! = Night is young!

A palavra é sua! = The floor is yours!

Acabar em pizza = To end in smoke

Aconteça o que acontecer! = Come what (ever) may!

Agora falamos a mesma língua! = Now we're talking!

Ah, é?? = Is that so??

Até parece!! = As if!!

Bater as botas = To bite the dust

Beleza!! = Giddy up!!

Bonito, hein? = Fine thing!

Brochante = A turn off (Her behavior was a turn off)

Bunda-mole = Bubble butt

Verbo "To Be"

2009-10-14T00:16:00.005-03:00

O verbo "to be" equivale aos verbos SER e ESTAR, em português. É importante destacar que, na língua inglesa, não há uma distinção entre eles.

ex: I'm in the classroom. (Eu estou na sala de aula.) e I'm a teacher. (Eu sou um professor.)

A conjugação do verbo "to be" na forma afirmativa no presente do indicativo é:

	Tradução	Forma contraída
I am	Eu sou/ estou	I'm
You are	Você é/está tu és/estás	You're
He is	Ele é/está	He's
She is	Ela é/está	She's
It is	Ele(a) é/está	It's
We are	Nós somos/estamos	We're
You are	Vós sois/estais	You're
They are	Eles são/estão	They're

A terceira pessoa do singular (ele/ela) apresenta um pronome a mais: "it", do que seu equivalente em português. "It" refere-se ao gênero neutro que normalmente é usado para representar seres inanimados, animais ou objetos. Em português, os gêneros feminino e masculino incluem indistintamente pessoas, animais e objetos.

Perceba também que a segunda pessoa do singular "you are" recebe o mesmo tratamento que a segunda pessoa do plural "you are". Desta forma o contexto da frase indicará o plural ou o singular.

Exemplos:

I am a dentist. (Eu sou uma dentista)

Mary is a doctor. (Maria é uma médica) = She is a doctor.

My dog is cute. (Meu cachorro é fofinho) = It is cute.

Sue and her sister are lawyers. (Sue e a irmã dela são advogadas) = They are lawyers.

We are engineers in Brazil. (Nós somos engenheiros no Brasil).

You are my friend. (Você é meu amigo)

You are my friends. (Vocês são meus amigos)

Ao usarmos o verbo "to be" na forma interrogativa, geralmente empregamos a ordem: “verbo + sujeito + complemento”.

Exemplos:

Are you hungry? (Você está com fome?)

Are they Brazilian? (Eles são brasileiros?)

Is he a singer? (Ele é um cantor?)

Is she the doctor? (Ela é a médica?)

Am I late? (Eu estou atrasado?)

Is your dog tired? (O seu cachorro está cansado?)

Na forma negativa aplica-se a seguinte ordem: “sujeito + verbo to be + not + complemento”.

	Tradução	Forma contraída
I am not	Eu não sou / não estou	I'm not
You are not	Você não é / não está	You aren´t
He is not	Ele não é / não está	He isn´t
She is not	Ela não é / não está	She isn´t
It is not	Ele(a) não é / não está	It isn´t
We are not	Nós não somos / não estamos	We aren´t
You are not	Vocês não são / não estão	You aren´t
They are not	Eles não são / não estão	They aren´t

Exemplos:

They are not right.(Eles não estão certos)

Bob is not here. (Bob )

I am not sad. (Eu não estou triste)

Lisa is not Japanese. (Lisa não é japonesa)

Aren’t you hungry? (Você não está com fome?)

Isn’t the teacher angry? (A professora não está nervosa?)

Isn’t your father a doctor? (Seu pai não é um médico?)

Site Recomendado

2009-10-13T17:10:00.006-03:00

English Slangs site:

http://slang.otheday.com/

Idioms (parts of the body)

2009-10-10T14:11:00.015-03:00

There are a lot of English idioms based on parts of the body. Here are some examples :

It cost an arm and a leg
It was very expensive

They don’t see eye to eye

They don’t agree with each other

She’s got a nose for a bargain
She’s very good at finding ......

I was on my knees by the end of the day
I was very tired

There's no elbow-room

There isn't enough space

We did it by the skin of our teeth

We only just succeeded, we almost failed

He doesn’t have a leg to stand on

There’s no justification for what he did or says

I really put my foot in it
I said something by mistake that I shouldn’t have said

She gave him the cold shoulder

She rejected him; she ignored him

He’s pulling your leg
He’s pretending something is true when it isn’t, as a joke

The car is on its last legs
It’s old and will soon be unusable

He welcomed us with open arms
He was very pleased to accept our help

We soon lost heart
We became demotivated

Colloquialism

2009-10-10T13:30:00.015-03:00

A colloquialism can relate to words, expressions or phrases that aren’t used in most formal written speech, although this can vary. It often isn’t rude to utter a colloquialism. These words or terms may be specific to a region, or fall into popular style based on a variety of factors. There are plenty of colloquialism examples in American speech:

Gotta = Got to
I´ve gotta go now = I´ve got to go now (Tenho que ir agora)

Gonna = going to
I´m gonna study = I´m going to study (Vou estudar)

Wanna = want to
I wanna hold you = I want to hold you (Quero te abraçar)

Oughta = ought to
There´s something you oughta know = There´s something you ought to know (Há algo que você deveria saber)

Lemme = let me
Lemme see what you got = Let me see what you got (Deixe-me ver o que você conseguiu)

Gimme = give me
Gimme a kiss = Give me a kiss (Me dê um beijo)

Dunno = don't know
I dunno what to do = I don't know what to do (Eu não sei o que fazer)

Gotcha = I got you

He grabbed hold of me and said: "Gotcha" = He grabbed hold of me and said: "I got you" (Ele me agarrou e disse: "Te peguei")

Will or Going to?

2009-10-10T09:16:00.012-03:00

GOING TO	WILL
EVIDENT PREDICTION	NON-EVIDENT PREDICTION
PRE-DECIDED PLAN OR IDEA	DECISION TAKEN AT THE MOMENT OF SPEAKING

When we want to talk about future facts or things we believe to be true about the future, we use 'will'.

The President will serve for four years.

The boss won't be very happy.

I'm sure you'll like her.

I'm certain he'll do a good job.

If we are not so certain about the future, we use 'will' with expressions such as 'probably', 'possibly', 'I think', 'I hope'.

I hope you'll visit me in my home one day.

She'll probably be a great success.

I'll possibly come but I may not get back in time.

I think we'll get on well.

If you are making a future prediction based on evidence in the present situation, use 'going to'.

Not a cloud in the sky. It's going to be another hot day.

Look at the line. We're not going to get in for hours.

The traffic is terrible. We're going to miss our flight.
Be careful! You're going to spill your milk.

At the moment of making a decision, use 'will'. Once you have made the decision (you have a plan or idea), talk about it using 'going to'.

I'll call Jenny to let her know. Sarah, I need Jenny's number. I'm going to call her about the meeting.

I'll come and have a drink with you but I must let Harry know. Harry, I'm going to have a drink with Simon.

Have some fun with Cartoons!!

2009-10-07T23:35:00.014-03:00

English Idioms

2009-10-07T12:23:00.027-03:00

What is an idiom?

An idiom is a combination of words that has a meaning that is different from the meanings of the individual words themselves. It can have a literal meaning in one situation and a different idiomatic meaning in another situation. It is a phrase which does not always follow the normal rules of meaning and grammar.Below you can find some examples:

1- Click in the following link and learn some new expressions.

2- TO MAKE YOUR HAIR STAND UP ON END
The shock was so great it made your hair stand up on end.

The shock was so great it frightened you.

3- TO ACT ONE'S AGE
To behave in a more mature way. Frequently said to a child or teen.
Ex. "Bill, stop throwing rocks! Act your age!"

4- TO BE AT EACH OTHER'S THROATS

Fighting or arguing heavily.
Ex. "They were at each other's throats. The arguments never stopped."

5- TO PLAY THE FIELD
Someone who plays the field has sexual relationships with many people.
Ex. "Bob goes out with a different woman every weekend. He really plays the field!"

Dicas em Português

2009-10-05T14:38:00.038-03:00

1- Lembrem-se sempre que em inglês a letra E nunca é pronunciada quando está no final da palavra ou quando é sufixo "ed".

Ex: some /suhm/ - come /kuhm/ - tube /toob/ - love /luhv/ - like /lahyk/ - flame /fleym/ - pay /peyd/

2- Há palavras que em português são escritas com letra minúscula, porém em inglês devem sempre ser escritas com letra maiúscula:

mês (January, February...)

dia da semana (Sunday, Monday...)

nacionalidade (Brazilian, American...)

idiomas (English, Portuguese, Japanese...)

o pronome pessoal "eu" = I

3- Sempre que você tiver dúvida sobre a pronúnica de uma determinada palavra em inglês, não se arrisque, procure a pronúncia correta no dicionário. Temos vários dicionários online (inclusive temos alguns links no nosso blog) que você pode clicar na palavra e ouvir o som. É melhor perder um minuto que falar bobagem!!

4- No inglês americano falado, as contrações (where's, what's, who's, how's e that's) são usadas 70% mais frequentemente do que "where is", "what is", "who is", "how is" e "that is".

5- A palavra "has" ou "have" no "present perfect tense", é apenas um auxiliar que não tem significado na tradução.

Ex: I have done my homework. = Eu fiz meus deveres de casa.

Não é traduzido como: Eu tenho feito meus deveres de casa.

6- Procure não traduzir as palavras ao pé da letra pois muitas vezes isso não é possível em inglês. Tente pensar em inglês, mas se você ainda está bem no início de seus estudos, e sente a necessidade de traduzir, tome cuidado.

Ex: How much is this? "Quanto custa isso?" e não "Como muito é isso?", pois how = como e much = muito.

Pronunciation of Regular Verbs in the Past Tense

2009-10-05T14:17:00.012-03:00

Os verbos regulares no passado (que têm o sufixo "ed") em inglês têm 3 pronúncias distintas.

1- Sempre que a pronúncia do infinitivo terminar em "voiceless consonant" (f - k - p - s- sh - c - ch - x) o sufixo "ed" tem pronúncia de /t/.

stop /stap/ - stopped /stapt/
fix /fiks/ - fixed /fikst/

work /wrk/ - worked /wrkt/
laugh /læf/ - laughed /læft/
miss /mIs/ - missed /mIst/
cash /kæsh/ - cashed /kæsht/
watch /wótsh/ - watched /wótsht/

2- Sempre que a pronúncia do infinitivo terminar em "alveolar stop consonant" (T e D) o sufixo "ed" tem pronúncia de /id/.

need /niyd/ - needed /'niydd/
attend /'tend/ - attended /'tendd/
visit /'vIzt/ - visited /'vIztd/
create /kriy'eyt/ - created /kriy'eytd/
want /wónt/ - wanted /'wóntd/
print /prInt/ - printed /'prIntd/

3- Sempre que a pronúncia do infinitivo terminar em vogal ou "voiced consonant" (todas que não se encaixam nas listas acima) o sufixo "ed" tem pronúncia de /d/.

play /pley/ - played /pleyd/

grab /græb/ - grabbed /græbd/

live /lIv/ - lived /lIvd/

use /yuwz/ - used /yuwzd/

engage /In'geydj/ - engaged /In'geydjd/

blame /bleym/ - blamed /bleymd/
listen /lIsn/ - listened /lIsnd/
repair /riy'per/ - repaired /riy'perd/

As regras acima referem-se apenas ao sufixo "ed" do passado e particípio passado dos verbos regulares, e não de adjetivos, como por exemplo: naked, rugged, wicked...

English Proverbs (A-B)

2009-10-04T22:58:00.006-03:00

All good things come to those who wait = Patience brings rewards.

A bird in hand is worth two in a bush = It's better to keep what you have than to risk losing it by searching for something better.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder = Different people have different tastes.

Better late than never = It's better to do something, even if it is late, than never do anything at all.

Better safe than sorry = It's better to be too careful than to be careless and regret it later.

Idioms (animals)

2009-10-02T23:11:00.021-03:00

It's raining cats and dogs! = It's raining heavily!
Ex: Wow! It's raining cats and dogs today and I forgot my umbrella.

To have a cow! = To get really upset
Ex: When I told him I would arrive home around midnight he had a cow!!

It's a dog-eat-dog world = Only the strongest survives
Ex: I've never learned how to use a computer, so I lost my job to a new employee. It's a dog-eat-dog world!

Hold your horses!! = Wait, stop!!
Mary: Hurry up!! We're going to be late!!
Sandy: All right!! Hold your horses, I'm coming!

To put the cart before the horse = to do things in the wrong order
Sue started driving some months ago, but she will take her driver's license only next week. She has put the cart before the horse!

Slangs

2009-10-01T23:52:00.040-03:00

GO OFF THE DEEP END = go too far with something; to do something crazy

Example: My mom has always collected dolls, but I'm afraid she's gone off the deep end -- she buys 10 dolls a day!!

Etymology: The deep water, which is at the "deep end" of a pool, is dangerous. You can get lost in the deep end. This phrase refers to that danger, but in an emotional rather than physical sense.

IN A FUNK = depressed or upset

Example: This winter weather really has me in a funk!

Etymology: Derived from the flemish word "fonck" meaning disturbed or agitated.

COLD FEET = loss of courage, fear

Example: I was going to jump off the high diving board, but I got cold feet once I was up there.

Etymology: If your feet are cold you can't walk or move forward very well - you are frozen in one place.

Click in the links below for more slangs!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPIF6b4E5QA&feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TO8yfWMU2Yc&feature=channel