Tennis vocabulary

Love, deuce, tie-break, umpire  ... Don't worry if you don't understand all this tennis terminology .Below is a vocabulary list  to help you enjoy a little more the next tennis match you watch in English !

ace- saque ganador  /15 all-empate a quince  /ball boy/girl -chico/chica recogepelotas /  baseline-línea de fondo/  deuce -punto de cuarenta iguales /lob -hacer un globo  love - cero /passing shot-conseguir que la pelota supere  al adversario/golpe   /serve -servicio /return -devolver/ tie-break-muerte súbita-desempate  / umpire -árbitro/volley-volea / grass court -pista de hierba/ clay court -pista de tierra batida /tennis court -pista de tennis .

He has a very good serve -tiene un servicio muy bueno.

The score is fifteen-love - la puntuación es de  15 a cero.

The two best passing shots of the tournament- los dos mejores golpes(paralelo/cruzado)  del torneo .

His final volley of the match was spectacular. -su  volea de final de  partido fué espectacular .

Now  watch the video and  enjoy the highlights of one of the best matches  ever in Wimbledon.

Wimbledon 2008 The Best Final Ever Nadal vs Federer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEUGjcQ3jYs

British Pubs

British people love going to the pub, where they meet friends, have a drink and play darts. Pubs open at about 9 o’clock in the morning and they usually close at eleven o’clock at night. You can order [1] drinks until a quarter to eleven. Then the landlord has to tell everyone that it is closing time [2]. He rings a bell [3] and shouts: “Last orders!”. When everyone hears this, they know that the pub is going to close and so they go to the bar to buy a last round of drinks.

You have to remember two very important things about pubs in Britain: you have to order your drinks at the bar because there is no table service and you have to pay for your drinks when you order them! If you go with friends, everyone usually buys a round [4] of drinks.

There are lots of different kinds of beer; such as lager, bitter or stout for example. Lager is light in colour and body, bitter beer has a strong flavour of hops [5] and is obviously bitter [6], and stout is strong and dark, made with roasted malt or barley [7]. When you want a glass of beer, you can order a pint or half a pint.

In British pubs, when you buy spirits [8] the barman gives you a very small amount [9] of alcohol. He measures the amount of alcohol (0.0284 litres) that he puts in each glass. In Britain, the law says that pubs have to do this. If you want a bigger drink, ask for a double – but remember you have to pay double as well. If you want, for example,  with ice, you can ask for it “with ice” or “on the rocks”.

Did you know that you can also eat there? In fact, some pubs serve very good meals and lots of people go there to eat. This is affectionately called “pub grub”, and you can bet you will get your fill of meat and potatoes.

You are now ready to survive in a British pub!

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[1] pedir, [2] la hora de cerrar, [3] tocar la campana, [4] ronda, [5] lúpulo, [6] amargo, [7] cebada, [8] bebidas alcohólicas, [9] cantidad

Football vocabulary

Here is a vocabulary list to help you talk  about one of the world's most popular games.Once you have  checked the list watch the highlights of the Champions League Final 2011 Barcelona vs Manchester United played in Wembley while  you listen to the commentary in English. ( My apologies to all  R. Madrid fans ! )

a match- un partido  /a football pitch - un campo de fútbol / 6  yard box / 18 yard box or penalty area - el área pequeña / el área grande /first half/second half- primera parte/segunda parte /a referee - un árbitro / a goalkeeper -un portero/  a defender -un defensa  /  a midfielder -un centrocampista/ an attacker /a forward / a striker -un atacante/delantero/goleador / a manager-un entrenador/     a foul -una falta / 

to take a free kick-  lanzar un tiro libre  /  a booking -targeta amarilla (yellow card)/ offside -fuera de juego  / the score -el resultado /an own goal - un gol en propia puerta/ an equaliser -gol que hace el empate / keep possession- mantener posesión del balón / a draw -un empate  / a clinical finish - culminar la jugada con un chut colocado que acaba en gol.

Now read these phrases taken from the commentary in English of the match.

A great ball by Giggs....First real opening !............. What a good chance  !
Barcelona  scored in the 27th minute ... Pedro finishes so clinically...
Equalizer ...
He (Messi) can do everything inside or outside the box .
Definitely a team...

Have You Ever?

Have you ever had a funny or interesting experience?

Have you ever done anything stupid?

Do you know what have you ever means? We use ever with the present perfect (have + past participle) to find out if something has been done before. So…

Have you ever climbed a mountain?

Have you ever sailed across an ocean?

Have you ever cheated on an exam?

Have you ever won a competition?

Have you ever been in trouble?

Have you ever had a tattoo?

Have you ever played hopscotch?

Have you ever studied in another country?

Of course, one thing is asking a question, another is answering. You can simply use the auxiliary verb in a short answer: 

Yes, I have. / No, I haven't.

Or you can give a little more detail with a frequency adverb, like never, often, once, twice, three times, etc. For example:

I’ve never been there before.

I’ve done that once.

Notice, we place the frequency adverbs like never before the main verb (or past participle) but we place the adverbs that tell us a specific quantity after the complement.

So don’t be shy! Share your experiences!