English Expressions: Dodge the Bullet. As you can see in the photo, a bullet (una bala) is what comes out

English Expressions: Dodge the Bullet. As you can see in the photo, a bullet (una bala) is what comes out of a gun (pistola). To dodge something is to avoid something by jumping out of the way quickly. The expression comes from the idea that if you get out of the way of a bullet, you can save your life. Although the expression isn’t used in this way today, it does refer to dodging something bad.
Now that you have seen English Expressions: Dodge the Bullet, take a look at our other Expression Session posts:
Expression Session: Hang in there
Expression Session: Hammer out the details
En la Escuela de Idiomas de la Cámara de Comercio tenemos cursos de inglés para todos los niveles y necesidades. Pincha aquí para apuntarte ahora o escribirnos a idiomas@camaradealava.com
English Vocabulary: Raise, Rise, Arise. These three verbs can be very confusing. So, let’s break them down one by one.
It’s important to learn vocabulary in context. So, here are some of the words that tend to ‘collocate’ with Raise, Rise and Arise.
Now that you have seen, English Vocabulary: Raise, Rise, Arise, have a look at our other posts:
Vocab Rehab: backlash
Vocab Rehab: strike
Learn about Transitive and Intransitive Verbs in less than 5 minutes.
I love… (Who or what do you love?) | Amo… (A quien o que amas?) |
I love tennis | Me encanta el tenis. |
I love books | Me encantan los libros |
I love you | Te quiero a ti. |
She’s wearing… (What is he wearing?) | Ella lleva puesto… (¿Qué lleva puesto?) |
She’s wearing a suit to work | Ella lleva un traje al trabajo |
Jenny’s wearing a t-shirt today | Jenny lleva hoy una camiseta |
He’s wearing pijamas. | Lleva un pijama |
We arrived | Llegamos |
He lied | Él mintió |
I cried | Yo lloré |
The sun rose at 5:24 (at 5:24 answers when, so it is not a D.O.) | El sol se levanta a las 5:24 (a las 5:25 responde a cuando, por lo que no es un objeto directo. |
Mary is sleeping on the couch (on the couch answers where, so it is not a D.O) | Mary está durmiendo en el sofá (en el sofá responde a donde, por lo que no es un objeto directo. |
A veces un verbo puede ser tanto TRANSITIVO como INTRANSITIVO, dependiendo de su uso.
TRANSITIVE / TRANSITIVO | INTRANSITIVE /INTRANSITIVO |
Lucia plays basketball every Monday and Wednesday / Lucía juega al baloncesto todos los lunes y miércoles | Lucia plays outside. / Lucía juega fuera. |
We will continue the meeting after lunch. / Continuaremos la reunión después del almuerzo. | After lunch the meeting continued. / Tras el almuerzo, la reunión continuó. |
Now that you have seen this grammar video, take a look at our other posts:
Grammar Video: Frequency adverbs in less than 5 minutes
Grammar Video: Embedded questions in less than 5 minutes
En la Escuela de Idiomas de la Cámara de Comercio de Álava tenemos cursos de inglés para todos los niveles y necesidades. Ponte en contacto con nosotros para saber más idiomas@camaradealava.com
English Vocabulary: Backlash. Some say that all social issues face backlash at a certain moment. What kinds of rights are facing backlash by you?
Collocations are words that go together. Stop learning vocabulary by itself and learn it with the words that are used with it. Learning this way will also help you memorize the words more easily.
Now that you have seen English Vocabulary: Backlash, check out our other Vocab Rehab posts:
Vocab Rehab: strike
Vocab Rehab: sibling
Would you mind? Although this seems like a very simple phrase, it can get quite confusing. M1nd in this question means ‘to bother’ or ‘molestar‘ in Spanish. The tricky part is in the answer. No, it doesn’t bother me or yes, it does bother me.
This is an indirect way of asking for permission for something. It is quite commonly used in English. Pay special attention to the answers.
Do/Does (someone) mind + if + subject + present simple
Do you mind if he comes? | ¿Te importa que venga? | informal |
No, I don’t | No, no me importa | |
Yes, I do | Si me importa. |
Would (someone) mind + if + subject + present simple
Would she mind if we met after class? | ¿Le importaría si quedamos después de clase? | Polite |
No, she wouldn’t. | No, no le importaría. | |
Yes, she would. | Si, si le importaría. |
Would someone m1nd + if + subject + past simple
Would he mind if we arrived late? | ¿Le importaría que llegáramos tarde? | Polite and Formal |
No, he wouldn’t | No, no le importaría. | |
Yes, he would. | Si le importaría. |
Would (someone) mind + me/my + ing… ?
We can also use this question form to politely request help from someone.
Would (someone) mind + ing…?
As you have seen in the previous examples, you can answer these types of questions with ‘Yes, I do/would’ or ‘No, I don’t/wouldn’t’. However, it quite common to use some of the following phrases as well.
Take a look at our other Grammar posts:
Grammar: Multi- Word Verbs
Grammar: Reflexive Pronouns
En la Cámara de Idiomas de la Cámara de Comercio, tenemos clases para todos los niveles y necesidades. Ponte en contacto con nosotras a idiomas@camaradealava.com o ver nuestros cursos pinchando aquí
English Expressions: Hang in there. It’s May, the weather is getting nice and we still need to make it through some months before we can enjoy the summer. Hang in there!!! You can do it.
Now that you have seen English Expressions: Hang in there, take a look at our other Expression Session posts:
Expression Session: Hammer out the details
Expression Session: Catch someone’s eye
En la Escuela de Idiomas de la Cámara de Comercio de Álava, tenemos cursos de todos tipos. Pónte en contacto con nosotros: idiomas@camaradealava.com
English Vocabulary: Strike. May 2nd is an International Worker’s Rights Day. In countries all over the world, people are striking for better working conditions and better pay. There are many ways to use the word strike, so let’s take a look at some of them.
Now that you have seen English Vocabulary: strike, take a look at our other Vocab Rehab posts:
Vocab Rehab: Sibling
Vocab Rehab: decimal point
Join us for an English Rountable Discussion. We will be thinking about why it is valuable to know where we really want to go. Also, why is it important to know this before you get there.
When: May 4th, from 18:00 to 19:30
Where: Manuel Iradier 17, Vitoria
How to register: Please sign up for the event here.
Annie Hintz – I am happy to be hosting this roundtable discussion at the Chamber of Commerce in Alava where I work. As host I hope to open up the discussion to everyone so we can all enjoy a hearty conversation and in English.
There will be three other English teachers involved in the roundtable and an Associate Profesor at UPV/EHU
Learn more about them here:
Annie Hintz
Blessing Osudji
Olga Fernández
John Hird
Martin Holland
We will be thinking about why it is valuable to know where we really want to go. Also, why is it important to know this before you get there.
Don’t forget to register here for the English Rountable Discussion.
While you are here, take a look at some of our posts teaching vocabulary, expressions and grammar.
Vocab Rehab: Sibling
Expression Session: Hammer out the details
Grammar: Multi-word verbs
English Vocabulary: Sibling. Sibling is such a commonly used word. So, we do so few people know about it? How many siblings do you have?
It can be difficult to remember all the vocabulary that you need to learn a new language! As the saying goes, ‘Practice makes perfect’. There are number of ways to improve vocabulary:
Now that you have seen English Vocabulary: Sibling, take a look at our other Vocab Rehab posts:
Vocab Rehab: Apologize
Vocab Rehab: decimal point
English Expression: Hammar out the details. Although this expression sounds a bit strange, it’s actually used quite often. If you hammer something like a glass cup, it breaks down into many little pieces. So, the expression means we are going to figure out all the little details.
Now that you have seen English Expression: Hammar out the details, take a look at our other Expression Session Posta:
Expression Session: Catch someone’s eye
Expression Session: A ballpark figure
There are so many expressions in every language. Not living in an English speaking country can make it difficult to learn all of them. Here are some tips on how to learn and use English expressions.
Good Luck!
Cursos Intensivos B2 y C1 Inglés Gratuitos. Cada julio preparamos los/las alumnos/as para pasar sus exámenes de B2 y C1 de Cambridge y Oxford Test of English. Este verano los cursos intensivos están 100% bonificados. Quiere decir que puedes recibir 60 horas de inglés de alta calidad gratuitamente.
Preparar el alumnado para el examen de B2 de Cambridge y/o Oxford
Preparar el alumnado para el examen de C1 de Cambridge y/o Oxford
Ahora que has visto Cursos Intensivos B2 y C1 Inglés Gratuitos, puedes ver los de más cursos que tenemos en la Escuela de Idiomas de la Cámara de Alava pinchando aquí
English Vocabulary: Apologize. Whether we like it or not, apologizing is an important part of communication. And let’s face it – we love saying ‘sorry’ in English. So, let’s do it properly, please.
When to say I apologize or I’m sorry is definetly a cultural concept. So, let’s take a look at some common scenarios where a ‘sorry’ is needed.
Now that you had a look at English Vocabulary: Apologize, take a look at our other Vocab Rehab posts:
Vocab Rehab: large numbers in English
Vocab Rehab: micromanage
Writing Rules: Mr, Miss, Mrs, Ms. You may have heard of Mr., Miss and Mrs., but have you heard of Ms.?
The idea of Ms was originally presented by publishers as early as the 1900s who wanted to avoid embarrassment by mistaking a woman’s status. It wasn’t until the 1960’s, however, that Sheila Michaels supported the idea of using Ms as a way for women to not have to be identified by their marital status. Read more about Sheila Michaels. Ms. was later used as the title of a famous feminist magazine in the US in 1971. Take a look at the online Ms Magazine here. However, Ms was not used in the New York Times until the 1980s. Today, the term is used quite frequently.
It is quite important to know the difference between Miss, Mrs. and Ms.
Now that you have seen Writing Rules: Mr Miss Mrs Ms, take a look at our other writing focused posts:
Emails: we can do better
Frequency adverbs in less than 5 minutes
English Expression: Catch someone’s eye. This expression has two meanings and eventhough they look similar, there are some important differences.
Now that you have learned about English Expression: Catch someone’s eye, have a look at our other Expression Session posts:
Expression Session: a ballpark figure
Expression Session: be on equal footing
En la Escuela Oficial de Idiomas de la Cámara de Alava, hay clases de inglés para todos los niveles y necesidades. Ponte en contacto con nosotros para encontrar una clase para ti.
English decimal point vs comma. Putting a decimal point instead of a comma can make thousands of dollars of difference. So, let’s make sure we get it right.
US, UK, China | Spain, France, Germany, etc |
123,456,789.00 | 123.456.789,00 |
Now that you have seen English decimal point vs comma, have a look at our other Vocab Rehab posts:
Vocab Rehab: large numbers
Vocab Rehab: Micromanage
In addition to our posts here, follow us on Instagram and Facebook @blogglish to take weekly English quizzes.
Numbers in English. I’ve been speaking Spanish for almost 20 years and I still do math in English. But, it is really important to know how to say and write large numbers. One zero can make a complete difference.
32,001 | thirty-two thousand and one |
32.001 | thirty-two point oh oh one |
$65,300.06 | sixty-five thousand, three hundred dollars and six cents |
$65,306.00 | sixty-five thousand, three hundred and 6 dollars |
400,000.00€ | four hundred thousand euros |
four hundred thousand |
Millions of euros are spent every year on street cleaning. | a million euros are spent everyear on street cleaning. |
Hundreds of billions of dollars are made by pharaceutical companies every month. | a hundred billion dollars are made by pharmaceutical companies every month. |
Now that you have learned about Large Numbers in English, take a look at our other Vocab Rehab posts:
Vocab Rehab: Micromanage
Vocab Rehab: Lateral Thinking