T E S T I

Abajo encontrars una serie de frases. Solo una es correcta en cada caso,
bien sea por razones gramaticales, bien sea por el contexto. Piensa la
respuesta muy bien antes de contestar y piensa por qu es correcta esa
respuesta y no las restantes. Encontrars las respuestas en la pgina
siguiente con sus correspondientes expl icaciones.
IE1 The late Ronal d Reagan annoyed him D
O Ronal d Reagan, late, annoyed him D
Late Ronald Reagan annoyed him D
Ronal d Reagan annoyed him late D
UYesterday he bought a trouser in Bryant's D
I He yesterday bought a trouser in Bryant' s I I
9 He boughted a trouser in Bryant' s yesterday D
l Yesterday he bought some trousers in Bryant' s D
SU The fraudster was sent to a prison D
!H The fraudster was sent to the prison D
u The fraudster was sent to prison D
The fraudster was sent to some prison D
Barely I have any rice left D
I barel y have any rice left D
I have any rice barel y left D
I have some rice barel y l eft D
However hard he pushed, he just coul dn' t open the door D
However, hard he pushed, he just coul dn' t open the door D
How hard he ever pushed, he just couldn't open the door D
However much hard he pushed, he just coul dn' t open the door | |
I real l y l ike the Pedro's new car D
SOI I l ike the Pedro's new car real l y D
13E1 I real l y l ike Pedro's new car D
0} I real l y l ike new Pedro's car D
Wil l you be not abl e to go? D
Wi l l you can' t go? D
Won' t you be abl e to go? D
Wi l l ' n' t you can go? D
Horse have cal ves | |
Horses have foal s D
Horses have cubs D
Horses have tadpol es D
NOTAS
A N S W E R S
1.a Pero qu significa? Adivnalo! Se puede decir "the late Raner of Montecarlo" pero no
"the late Juan Carlos of Spain". Igual de aceptabl e sera "the late John Paul II". Por otro
lado, no se puede decir "the late John Paul I". Est cl aro? La respuesta viene a pie de
pgina.*
2.d La col ocacin de la pal abra yesterday era simpl emente para despistarte. Puede colocarse al
principio o al final de la frase. Obviamente la "C" incl uye un pasado incorrecto. El truco
est en saber que en ingls siempre decimos "some trousers" o "a pair of trousers". "A
trouser" no existe.
3.c Estamos hablando de un criminal: "a fraudster". Cuando hablamos de ciertas instituciones
(entre el l as "prisons, schools, hospitals and churches"), a veces se omite el artcul o. Por
ejemplo: "A prisoner goes to pr/son. However, a relative goes to the pr/son to visit the
prisoner. A pupil goes to school. His parents go to the school to speak with his teachers. A
sick person goes to hospital. Similarly, a relative of that person goes to the hospital to visit
them. If you are a practising Catholic, you go to church every Sunday. As a tourist, on the
other hand, you go to the church to visit the crypt". Para que la "D" fuera correcta, hara
fal ta aadir ms informacin: "He was sent to some prison n the middle of nowhere", por
ejemplo.
4.b Nuestro adverbio equival ente a "apenas" se sita inmediatamente antes de cual quier verbo
no auxil iar (regular o irregul ar), y despus de cual quier verbo auxil iar. Ojo! En este ejemplo,
el verbo have significa "tener" y no "haber", con lo cual, se comporta como un verbo no
auxi l i ar.
5.a La palabra however tiene dos significados: "however+ adverbio + sujeto + verbo", como en
este caso, que significa "Por muy fuerte que empujara". El otro significado de however,
(seguido de una coma) es "sin embargo".
6.c La "A" es quizs la que ms se oye en boca de un espaol, pero suena fatal. Tienes que
ol vidar el artculo en ejemplos de este tipo. Por otro lado, la "D" significa que lo nuevo es
Pedro y no su coche!
7.c No olvides que el futuro del verbo can (por cierto, un verbo incompleto) es wll be able to.
Para preguntas negativas el orden es siempre el siguiente: contraccin del auxi l i ar con
negacin (won't) + sujeto (you) + infinitivo (be able to).
8.b Una simpl e cuestin de vocabul ario! Cuntos cabal l os habis visto que paran terneros
(calves), cachorros de fel inos o lobos (cubs) o renacuajos (tadpoles)?
"The late Ronald Reagan" s i g n i f i c a "el recin fal l eci do" o "el difunto".
How is he l ike? I |
What does he look l ike? I I
What does he look? I I
How does he look l ike? G
How many of you wi l l there be? G
3 How many of you wi l l be? G
l How many be you? G
I How many are you? I I
I People in Italy dresses elegantly G
:
f The Italian people dresses elegantly G
>t People from Italy dresses elegantly G
H Italian people dress elegantly G
Why you haven't started yet? G
Why haven't you started yet? G
Why do you not have started? G
Why you still haven't started? I I
3Eft If anyone would like to ask a question, fi re away G
jflil If anyone would like to question me, fi re away I I
EI If anyone would like to demand a question, fire away G
JEI If anyone would like to make me a question, fire away O
Et When did it last take you three hours to get to work? G
JJjl When did you take three hours to get to work for the last time? G
iT When did you last three hours to get to work l atel y? G
tfii When have you lasted three hours to get to work lately? I I
He is used to make speeches O
He is using to make speeches O
He used to making speeches CU
He is used to making speeches G
We go there all the years G
We go there each year G
We go there every year | |
We go there all years G
NOTAS
8
1.b Significa "Cmo es l fsicamente?". "Cmo es l ?" (como persona) sera "What is he
like?" "Cmo est?" sera "How is he?". Las tres restantes no tienen mucho sentido.
2.a Esta es una frase donde habitual mente los espaol es se equivocan, traduciendo de forma
l iteral del castel l ano (como en el ejempl o "D"). La respuesta normal es "There'll be five of
us." Otros ejemplos son "There were only three of us at the meeting." Y "/ interviewed many
candidates but only seven of them were any good."
3.d Se puede decir perfectamente "The tallan people" (en los libros de historia), "People in
ltaly"y "People from Italy". Sin embargo, people en ingls, al contrario que en castellano,
es pl ural , con lo cual solo val e la ltima. Adems, tallan people junto con Italians son las
formas ms empl eadas.
4.b Una de las famosas preguntas en negativo en las que siempre tiene que haber presente un
verbo auxi l i ar. En estos casos, hay que invertir dicho "auxi l i ar + not + sujeto". Aqu
propongo ms ejempl os con el verbo auxil iar seal ado en negrita: "Why don'tyou come?";
"What doesn't he like about it?"
;
"Why didn't she leave him?"
;
"Why can't you tell
me?";"Why isn't he here?"; "Why won't they let you?". Respecto a la "C", en cuanto
empl ees el verbo auxil iar do, have ha de significar "tener", lo cual es imposibl e debido a la
presencia del participio.
5.a Unos matices: "to question" significa "preguntar cuando hay motivo de sospecha" o
"interrogar" (interrgame, por favor!!!). "To demand" significa "exigir" (exigir una
pregunta?). "To make a question" -forma parte de ese mtico idioma spanglish que todava
cuenta con algunos adeptos. "To ask a question" es la nica vl ida. "Fire away" equivale a
"Adel ante!".

6.a Significa "Cundo fue la l tima vez que tardaste tres horas en venir al trabajo?" Last aqu
funci ona como adverbio. Es una forma ms natural que "When was the last time it took you
three hours to get to work?". "Tardar" = "to take"y se suele expresar en el impersonal (con
"it" como sujeto). "For the last time" quiere decir "por ltima vez". "To last" - "durar".
7.d "Acostumbrarse" y "estar acostumbrado a" llevan la forma del verbo acabado en -ing. No hay
que confundirl o con "usedto+ infinitivo". Comparmoslos: "I am usedto workinglonghours"
= "Estoy acostumbrado a trabajar muchas horas". En este caso, sigo trabajando. "/ used to
work long hours" - "Antes trabajaba muchas horas". Aqu se supone que ya no trabajo
muchas horas.
8.c En trminos general es, each y every son sinnimos pero hay dos ocasiones en las que solo
val e uno. Para decir "todos/as" refirindose a la frecuencia con la que hacemos algo, se
empl ea every ("every week", "every Monday", "every summer") y cuando hablamos de solo
dos cosas ("cada una" o "ambas") hay que util izar each.
T E S T 3
The news s a disaster. Now-m-on, ufe wi l l be even harder | |
* The news s a disaster. From here forward, ufe wi l l be even harder I I
The news s a disaster. Here-in-on, life will be even harder I I
The news is a disaster. Henceforth, l ife wi l l be even harder G
John bought the cat from Bob. -No, it was Peter who bought it O
John bought the cat from Bob. -No, were Peter who bought it G
John bought the cat from Bob. -No, was Peter who bought it d
John bought the cat from Bob. -No, he was Peter who bought it O
It would be a calamity were the summit to fail G
It would be a calamity should the summit to fai l O
It woul d be a cal amity unless the summit to fai l Q
It woul d be a cal amity if the summit to fai l D
Onl y by chance did Jack discover where the settlement was HJ
Onl y by chance had Jack discover where the settlement was O
Only by chance might have Jack discovered where the settlement was O
Only by chance Jack discovered where the settlement was I I
Before their trip, they had to incorprate lots of jabs. (Jabs = vacunas) Q
Before their trip, they had to make lots of jabs O
Before their trip, they had to do lots of jabs O
Before their trip, they had to have lots of jabs O
He shoved the day before yesterday | |
He shoved himself the day before yesterday O
He shaved himself the day before yesterday O
He shaved the day before yesterday O
He tooks the pen out his pocket D
He took the pen out of his pocket O
He took out the pen his pocket d
He took out the pen of his pocket O
He saught employment all last year O
He seeked employment all last year I I
He soaked employment all last year O
He sought employment all last year O
NOTAS
10
A N S W E R S
1.d Henceforth: una de nuestras expresiones para
restantes son errneas: deberan ser "now-on-in
correctas.
decir "de aqu en adel ante". Las tres
', "from now on" y "here-on-in" para ser
2.a Hasta que no i denti fi quemos a una persona por su nombre util izamos la forma impersonal
con el pronombre it, aunque estemos habl ando de nosotros mismos. "It wasn't him, it was
me". El ejempl o ms comn es cuando descol gamos el tel fono. "Quin eres?" se dice
"Who is it?"y "Soy Richard" se dice "It's Richard". Una vez identificado el sujeto, volvemos
a uti l i zar el pronombre personal habitual .
3.a Esta es una forma al ternativa y muy formal del segundo condicional , por muy raro que
suene. Summit significa "cumbre", tanto pol tica como montaosa. La oracin compuesta
por "Were + sujeto + to + infinitivo" sustituye a la ms frecuente "If + sujeto + pasado
simpl e". Se suele utilizar esta forma cuando estamos habl ando de un desenlace poco
probable en el contexto de un acontecimiento y periodo de tiempo especfico. "Should the
summit /a/7" sera otra al ternativa, pero cl aro, no se puede escribir con to como en el
ejemplo "C" tratndose de un verbo auxi l i ar. La pal abra o tambin sobra en el ltimo
ejemplo, donde el verbo tendra que ir en el pasado para ser correcto.
4.a Esta es di fci l . Cuando empezamos una frase con "On/y by chance" (Por pura casual idad)
hay que hacer lo siguiente: "On/y by chance + did + sujeto + infinitivo". Si esta forma
enftica te resul ta compl i cada, simpl emente escribe la frase as: "Jack only discovered
where the settlement was by chance. " Settlement significa "pobl ado".
5.d Una simpl e cuestin de vocabul ario. "Vacunarse" se dice get vaccinated, get nnoculated
o, entre la poblacin profana en el tema, have a jab. Jab es un "pinchazo".
6.d Shove o shave? Shove significa "empujar" pero normalmente requiere un compl emento y
no se usa de forma refl exi va. Nuestro verbo para "afeitarse" es shave. No se suele util izar
con el refl exivo, al contrario que en castel l ano.
7.b "Sacar algo de algn sitio" es take something out of a place. La "A" no val e porque solo se
aade una s despus de la tercera persona en el presente simpl e. Took, el pasado, no vara
en funci n de la persona. Falta of en la "C". En cuanto a la "D", cuando hay dos
preposiciones con un verbo, no se suelen separar. En dichos casos, al tratarse de un verbo
de movimiento, el complemento directo suele ir entre el verbo y la primera preposicin.
8.d El pasado del verbo seek ("buscar") es sought. Sin embargo, es mucho ms comn usar
look for. Soaked es el pasado y el participio del verbo soak ("empapar") y los otros dos
simpl emente no existen.
11
T E S T 4
U Nobody saw anything suspicious at any point D
OJ Anybody saw anything suspicious at any point D
Somebody saw anything suspicious at any point D
El Nobody saw anything suspicious at no point D
u l'm not looking forward to start work again D
u l'm not looking forward of starting work again D
l'm not looking forward for starting work again I I
El l'm not looking forward to starting work again D
UA part from my jewel l ery is missing D
JU Apart from my jewel l ery is missing D
fH Some of jewel l ery of mine is missing D
Some of my jewellery is missing D
U He's a pain seen that he's always late D
He's a pain although he's al ways late D
C3EI He's a pain, however, he's always late D
Cffil He's a pain inasmuch as he's always late D
The country has a rapid immigrant expanding population D
El The country has a rapidly expanding immigrant population D
fu The country has a rapid population expandingly immigrant D
El The country has an expandingl y rapid immigrant population D
He have just eaten his toast D
ts^i]| He just has eaten his toast I I
@EI He's just eaten his toast D
@EI He is just eaten his toast D
Hl He went out despite of the fact that it rained D
He went out in spite of it rained D
He went out in spite of raining D
He went out despite the rain D
She stood on the doormat D
She standed on the doormat D
She stoods in the doormat D
She stoods on the doormat.
NOTAS
12
A N S W E R S
1.a Aqu se trata de saber la diferencia entre anybody ("nadie") y anybody ("cualquiera").
Cuando vi ene precedido por un verbo o una expresin en negativo significa "nadie". Sin
embargo, cuando no es as, significa cual quiera. Adems, no puede haber ms de una
palabra estilo "no-body/thing/where" en la misma frase. A partir del primero, los dems
ejempl os sern "any-body/thing/where", por supuesto con connotacin negativa.
Repasemos las cuatro frases para ver lo que significan.
1.a "Nobody saw anythingsuspicious at any point". "Nadie vio nada sospechoso en
ningn momento". (Versin correcta)
1.b "Anybody saw anything suspicious at any point". "Cual quiera vio cual qui er cosa
sospechosa en cual quier momento".
(!) Un poquito raro, verdad?
1.c "Somebody saw anything suspicious at any point". "Al guien vio cual qui er cosa sos-
pechosa en cualquier momento". No!
Dos negativos, con lo cual no se
puede traducir.
1 .d "Nobody saw anything suspicious at no point".
2.d Esta es una expresin que hay que aprender de memoria. Es real mente til para terminar
una carta: "l'm looking forward to hearing from you soon" - "Quedo a la espera de tus
noticias". Una de las pocas veces que to acompaa a un verbo acabado en ing.
3.d "Some of myjewellery is missing" est bien. "Una parte de" = "a par OF" en ingls y, por
tanto, la primera respuesta est mal. "B": "exceptuando + sujeto + verbo" = "apart from
the fact that...". Para ser correcta, la tercera tendra que omitir el primer of: Somejewellery
of mine is missing.
4.d l es un pesado PORQUE siempre llega tarde. En consecuencia, la segunda (aunque) y la
tercera (sin embargo), no tienen mucho sentido. El equival ente de "en vista de que" en
ingls puede ser nasmuch as, "seeing that" y since, entre otras.
5.b En una cadena de adverbios y adjetivos siempre vamos del menos al ms esencial. De qu
se trata? De una poblacin (esto al final ). Qu tipo de pobl acin? Una poblacin de
inmigrantes (immigrant\ia penltimo). Qu est haciendo esta poblacin de inmigrantes?
Est creciendo (antepenltimo). Cmo est creciendo? Rpidamente (los adverbios
siempre van antes del adjetivo).
6.c No olvides que el apostrofe + s puede representar has o is. Significa "l acaba de comerse
su tostada". Si alguien ha puesto la "A", me pego un tiro! La posicin errnea de la pal abra
justdescarta la "B".
7.d En la "A" sobra of. Se dice in spite of, pero el sinnimo despite no lleva preposicin. En la
"B" fal ta "the fact that" antes del sujeto it. La "C" es absurda, dejndonos con la "D" como
nica opcin posible.
8.a Stand / Stood / Stood. La tercera persona solo l l eva una s en el presente simpl e por
supuesto!
13
T E S T 5
You needn't smoke in the office U
H You mustn't smoke in the office O
You don't have to smoke in the office I I
!l You shouldn' t have to smoke in the office G
fe Pollution is something you have to suppose D
I Pollution is something you have to live with I I
l Pollution is something you have to assume O
i i Pollution is something you have to support I I
I I don't bel ieve in the justice Q
I I don't believe about justice CU
i I don't bel ieve in justice HJ
l I don't believe about the justice d
The river is lOm deep at that point Q
The river is lOm of deep at that point n
The river has lOm of depth at that point D
H The depth river is lOm at that point D
At that moment, Len turned up out of the blue D
> In this moment, Len turned up out of the blue D
At this moment, Len turned up out of the blue D
In that moment, Len turned up out of the blue O
He earns twenty mi l l i ons pesetas a year | |
31 He earns twenty mi l l i on of pesetas a year G
ai He earns twenty millions of pesetas a year O
l He earns twenty mil l ion pesetas a year O
Who's the bag? D
H Whose the bag is? D
Whose bag is it? O
Who's is the bag? D
I won't go unless you not go Q
EJ I won't go unless you wi l l go O
I3t I won't go unless you won't go O
lii I won't go unless you go O
NOTAS
14
1.b Todas son correctas desde el punto de vista gramatical , pero la "B" es la nica que, por el
contexto, val e. Abajo tienes las traducciones de los cuatro ejemplos. Intenta traducirl o t
mismo con el fin de ver si hay alguna estructura que requiere un repaso,
1.a "You needn't smoke in the office". "No es necesario fumar en la oficina".
1.b "You mustn't smoke in the office". "No debes fumar en la oficina". (Est prohibido)
l.c "You don't have to smoke in the office". "No tienes que fumar en la oficina".
1 ,d "You shouldn't have to smoke in the office". "No deberas tener que fumar en la oficina". (!)
2.b uve with = "soportar"; suppose - "suponer, imaginarse"; assume - "suponer";
support= "apoyar".
3.c En ingls, "we be/ieve IN something". La Justicia, al igual que todos los nombres
abstractos, no lleva artculo.
4.a Aqu se trata de la siguiente estructura: "nmero + sustantivo + adj eti vo". Piensa en: "/ am
30 years od"; "My block is eght storeys hgh"; "The meeting was 15 minutes long".
5.a Primero, turn up significa "presentarse en un sitio" y "out of the blue" se puede traducir
como "inesperadamente". "En este momento = At the moment"; "En aquel momento - At
that moment". Las dems suenan fatal.
6.d En ingls decimos: "Two hundred pesetas", "Five thousand pesetas" y "Twenty million
pesetas". Cuando un nmero describe a algo nunca se pl ural iza. Of est igualmente fuera
de lugar. Es spanglish puro y duro.
7.c Veamos las posibles respuestas.
7.a "Who's the bag?" "Quin es el bolso?"
7.b "Whose the bag is?" Imposible traducirl o.
No tiene sentido.
Completamente absurdo pero se oye en
Espaa!
7.c "Whose bag is t?" "De quin es el bolso?" Versin correcta.
7.d "Who's is the bag?" "Quin es es el bolso?" Por favor!
Sera igualmente aceptable decir: "Whose is the bag?" o "Whose is this bag?"
8.d Esta oracin significa "Yo no ir a menos que t vayas". En un contexto futuro empleamos
el presente simpl e despus de un/ess.
15
T E S T 6
I went to the station D
n I went at the station D
I went the station D
I was to the station D
She's more big that me D
She's bigger as me D
She's bigger than me D
She's more big than me D
He's intelligenter that her D
He's more intelligent that her I I
He's more intelligent than her D
He's intelligenter than her D
Mine is red and the Christopher's is blue D
m Mine is red and Christopher's is blue D
Mine one is red and Christopher's one is blue D
H The mine is red and the Christopher's is blue D
31 I said I go D
I said that I go D
U I said I had go D
H I said l ' d go D
This one is over there, that one is here I I
These ones are here, thats ones are over there D
This one is here, thoses ones are over there D
These ones are here, those ones are over there I I
Can you to help me? D
Can you be abl e to help me? D
Are you able help me? | |
Can you help me? D
Tve stopped going to the gym D
l' ve stopped to go to the gym D
l' ve stopped of go to the gym D
l've stopped of going to the gym | |
NOTAS
16
A N S W E R S
1.a Utilizamos la preposicin to con el verbo go cuando nos dirijmos hacia un sitio. At se
emplea con el verbo be para indicar el sitio donde nos encontramos. En espaol , la forma
verbal "fui" corresponde al pasado simpl e de los verbos "ser" o "ir". En ingls no es as,
por tanto la opcin "D" es incorrecta.
2.c Comparativos: para adjetivos de una slaba se forma colocando eral final . En nuestro ejempl o
hay que aadir una segunda gal adjetivo. La siguiente palabra es siempre than. Por ejemplo,
"l'm taller than him"; "They're fster than me"; "He's shorter than them".
3.c Sin embargo, cuando el adjetivo contiene dos slabas o ms, lo dejamos tal cual pero
colocamos la palabra more justo antes. Than sigue siendo la palabra que hay que usar
inmediatamente despus. Algunos ejempl os: "She's more interested in the project than I
am"; "They're more unpredictable than you are",
4.b Una leccin muy importante. Ol vida la pal abra the cuando hablamos de "el mo, el de ella,
el nuestro, el de Paco, etc.". Hablamos siempre de "mine, hers, ours, Paco's". Segundo
punto: "mine - my one"; "yours = your one"; "his - his one"; "Laura's = Laura's one".
5.d "Dije que ira." Lo que realmente di j e fue "/ willgo", pero al comentarl o como oracin dicha
en el pasado hay que modificar will dando un paso hacia atrs en el tiempo. El pasado de
w/7/es wouldcuya contraccin es apostrofe + d. Por ejemplo, "l'll play"se relata "/ said l'd
play". "l'll helpyou" se convierte en "/ said l'd help you". Los primeros tres ejemplos son
incorrectos. Aunque puede que los dos primeros parezcan correctos, no lo son. "Dije ' voy' "
(entre comillas) sera "/ said 'l'm going'".
B.d Pronombres demostrativos. Cuando queremos seal ar un objeto que est al al cance de la
mano, empleamos this. Cuando el objeto que queremos indicar se encuentra fuera de
nuestro al cance, la pal abra es that. Si estamos habl ando de ms de un objeto, usamos these
para cosas que tenemos al lado y those para objetos ms l ejanos. Muy rel acionado con esto
es la diferencia entre here ("aqu") y over there ("al l ").
7.d El verbo can es un auxi l i ar con lo cual siempre exige un infinitivo SIN to. Por otro lado, la
expresin sinnima be able s requiere to. La "B" es absurda ya que significa "Puedes
poder ayudarme?" (una redundancia total).
8.a El verbo stop requiere infinitivo o gerundio en funci n de su significado. Cuando queremos
decir "parar para hacer algo" en un momento determinado, empleamos "stop + to +
i nfi ni ti vo". Ahora bien, cuando queremos decir "dejar de hacer algo" refirindonos a un
hbito, util izamos "stop + verbo en gerundio (-ing)". Por ejempl o, "/ stopped to answer my
mobile" frente a "I've stopped going to the public library".
17
T E S T 7
He wants that we go to the shop for some bread.
He want that we go to the shop for some bread.
He wants us to go to the shop for some bread. .
He likes us to go to the shop for some bread.
u
D
Do that which s written in the manual !
Do which s written in the manual! . . .
Do that s written in the manual !
Do what is written in the manual ! .
Did he has a nice time?
Had he a nice time?
Did he nave a nice time?
Did he have got a nice time?
I woul dn' t have run over the cat if I had seen it
I would haven't run over the cat if I have seen it
I hadn't have run over the cat if I woul dn' t have seen it.
I woul dn' t have ran over the cat if I had seen it.
The faster you run, the tireder you become
The fastest you run, the tiredest you become. . . .
How much faster you run that tireder you become.
The faster you run, the more ti red you become. . .
Indians represent 10 per cent of population of Great Britain
Indians represent the 10 per cent of the population of Great Britain.
Indians represent 10% of popul ation of Great Britain
Indians represent 10 per cent of the population of Great Britain. . .
n
D
D
D
D
D
n
D
D
I found out about it the other day.
I found about it out the other day.
I found about it the other day. . . .
I found it about out the other day.
There are three left days only. . . .
There are left three days only. . . .
There are only three days left. . . .
Left, there are onl y three days. . .
D
n
NOTAS
18
1.c Nunca decimos "/ want that" seguido de verbo aunque pueda sonar como una perfecta
traduccin del castellano, Por qu? Porque no tenemos subjuntivo en ingls con lo cual
hay que util izar un complemento objeto (en muchas ocasiones un pronombre) + to +
i nfi ni ti vo. La "B" tambin es incorrecta porque carece de la s necesaria en la tercera
persona singular del presente simple. La "D" simplemente suena rara.
2.d "Lo que = what". No hay ms que hablar. Ahora te propongo al gunos ejempl os: "/ like what
I saw." ("Me gusta lo que vi "); "What you said was interesting." ("Lo que dijiste fue
interesante"); "/ don't know what I am going to do." ("No s lo que voy a hacer").
3.c D/c/es un verbo auxil iar que ya expresa la tercera persona con lo cual no puede seguirle has.
La "B" no val e. Had he solo se dice con un participio y el significado es "haber" y no
"tener". Have got solo sirve para decir "tener" en el contexto del presente. Had got es
"haba conseguido".
4.a El condicional en el pasado. La "B" es una atrocidad l ingstica. La "C" desobedece una
de las normas principal es para formul ar un condicional : nunca se coloca ni la pal abra would
ni t v///en la misma oracin que if. La "D" es gramatical mente incorrecta, ya que los tiempos
compuestos requieren el participio (rur).
5.d "The treder" no se dice, tratndose de una excepcin. "Cuanto ms... ms" es siempre
"the + comparativo... the + comparativo". "How much" en este contexto es spanglish total.
6.d Igual que en castel l ano, hay que decir "de la pobl acin". Cuidado con los porcentajes!
Nosotros nunca decimos "the 10%". The sobra.
7.a Normalmente con los phrasal verbs se col oca el pronombre (it) entre el verbo y la partcula.
Sin embargo, en este caso, el verbo y sus dos preposiciones constituyen una unidad
indivisibl e por lo que hay que colocar it despus. Otro ejempl o sera "/ got away with it".
8.c "Solo quedan tres das." Esta expresin necesita el verbo there is/are, y la palaba left al
f i nal de la frase.
19
T E S T 8
when bees pinch G
It hurts when bees sting G
It hurts when bees pique | |
It hurts when bees bite D
1 He assumeds a big risk | |
l He assumes a big risk G
He took on a big risk G
1 He rans a big risk G
I remember to play with my friends as a chil d G
l I remember for to play with my friends as a chil d G
u I remember playing with my friends as a chil d D
u I have memories to play with my friends as a chi l d G
I asked her that she help me G
I asked her for to help me | |
I asked to her that she help me G
I asked her to help me G
If it snows tomorrow, we wi l l go to the mountains G
H If tomorrow it snows, we wi l l go to the mountains | |
u We go to the mountains if tomorrow it snows G
> If it wil l snow tomorrow, we wi l l go to the mountains G
They are two of them in the room G
They are two in the room G
There are two of them in the room G
There are two of they in the room G
I don't know who did do it | |
I don't know who did it G
I don't know who did it do it | |
I don't know who it was that did do it G
Do you know your route to her house? | |
Do you know your path to her house? G
Do you know the path to her house? G
Do you know your way to her house? G
NOTAS
20
A N S W E R S
1.b Cuando una abeja te pica util izamos el verbo sting. El verbo >/ese utiliza para mosquitos,
araas u hormigas. Pinch significa "pel l izcar" y piquees francs.
2.c Assume significa "dar por hecho" o, a veces, "creer". "Asumir un riesgo" es take on a risk.
Podemos decir run a risk ("correr un riesgo") pero el pasado del verbo no puede llevar una
s al f i nal como en el ejempl o "D".
3.c Cuando habl amos de recuerdos empl eamos el verbo remember con el gerundio (verbo
acabado en -ing). En cambio, cuando hablamos de cosas que tenemos que recordar o que
no hemos recordado utilizamos remember con el infinitivo ("to + verbo"). A continuacin
mostramos ejemplos de ambos. Con gerundio: "/ remember going to school for the first
time; I remember Ita/y winning the World Cup in 1982; I remember visiting the Lean ing
Tower of Pisa", y con infinitivo: "/ mus remember to phone my mother; I didn't remember
to go to the dentist's; Remember to tidy up when you finish".
4.d El acusativo de nuevo. Igual que ocurre con el verbo want, ask requiere un compl emento o
pronombre objeto ya que el subjuntivo no existe en ingls. Ol vdate de la palabra that
despus de verbos como ASK, WANT, NEEDy BEG. Aqu proponemos un ejemplo de cada:
"He asked u$ to take part" ("l nos pidi que participramos"); "He wanted us to take part"
("l quiso que participramos"); "He needed us to take part" ("l necesit que
participramos"); "He begged us to take part" ("l nos supl ic que participramos").
5.a Dos cosas. Primero: NUNCA utilizamos el auxiliar WILL despus de IF en una oracin
condicional . Por dicho motivo, la "D" es incorrecta. Segundo: la expresin de tiempo
(tomorrow) no puede ir en medio de una oracin condicional. Tiene que colocarse al
principio o al fi nal de la oracin.
6.c "Son dos - There are two of them". De la misma manera, cuando reservamos en un
restaurante, suel en hacer la siguiente pregunta: "How many of you will there be?", a lo que
hay que contestar: "There'll be four of us" y NUNCA "We will be four".
7.b No olvides que la segunda parte de la frase es una pregunta indirecta. La confusin puede
surgir debido a que el verbo en este caso es do, el mismo que utilizamos como auxil iar para
hacer preguntas directas. El orden ha de ser who + verbo en pasado.
8.d "A path" es "un sendero" o "camino". Sin embargo, el camino a algn sitio es "the way".
Route se util iza ms para un camino o recorrido habitual y no puntual .
21
T E S T 9
Hurry up! l'm waiting for you. -l'm going
m Hurry up! l'm waiting for you. -I come D
Hurry up! l'm waiting for you. -l'm coming D
Hurry up! l'm waiting for you. -I go I I
?} (Waiter serving you a drink) "Take it!" D
H (Waiter serving you a drink) "Hol d it!" I I
H (Waiter serving you a drink) "Here you are!" D
(Waiter serving you a drink) "Take!" D
?! Did you manage to cover back the bag you left on the bus? | |
3 Did you manage to get the bag you left on the bus back? D
H Did you manage to fi nd the bag back you left on the bus? D
Did you manage to recuprate the bag you left on the bus? D
Are you married or solitary? D
ETft Are you married or single? | |
HPt Are you married or alone? D
31! Are you married or lonely? D
l I didn' t realize the difficult it was D
I didn' t realize di ffi cul t it was D
U I didn' t realize what difficul t it was D
Sft I didn't realize how difficul t it was D
MI "Poor the you!" D
3 "Little poor!" D
s "Little poor thing!" D
:
t "Poor you!" D
They look so al ike. I always get them confused up! D
They look so al ike. I al ways get mixed up them! D
u They look so al ike. I always get them mixed up! D
They look so al ike. I al ways get confused them up! | |
1& It's a paper's plae D
U It's a plae made by paper | |
H It's a plae from paper D
H It's a paper plae D
NOTAS
22
A N S W E R S
1.c En ingls, cuando decimos "voy" con la intencin de acercarnos a otra persona, gritamos
"l'm coming!". Por otro lado, cuando decimos "me voy" con la intencin de alejarnos de la
otra persona decimos "l'm going". En ambos casos hemos de emplear el presente continuo.
2.c "Ah tiene." Curioso. Una frase tan cotidiana y qu poca gente hay que sepa decirlo bien!
3.b "Recuperar un objeto personal" es recover somethmg o get something back. Recuprate
significa "recuperarse" despus de una enfermedad.
4.b Si no ests casado, eres single. So/itary significa "solitario" mientras que alone es para
cuando estamos solos y lone/y para cuando nos sentimos solos.
5.d La palabra clave aqu es how. Otros ejemplos: "/ didn't know how mportant t was" (No
saba lo importante que era); "/ didn't realize how big it was" (No me di cuenta de lo grande
que era).
6.d "Pobrecito!" Tenemos dos formas para decir esto: "Pooryou!" o "Poor (little) thing!".
7.c Cuando no somos capaces de distinguir a una persona de otra, expresamos nuestra
confusin de dos formas: "/ always get them mixed up" o "/ always get them confused".
8.d "Un avin de papel" que tanto gusta a los nios es "a paper plae". La palabra pape/-
funciona aqu como adjetivo. En este caso no podemos util izar el genitivo sajn porque el
avin no pertenece al papel . Cuando decimos que un objeto est hecho de algn material
solemos usar la preposicin ofo, a veces, from ("The box was made of wood").
23
The opera house s in front of the Royal Palace n Madrid D
i The opera house face the Royal Palace in Madrid D
The opera house is opposite the Royal Pal ace n Madrid D
p The opera house s in face of the Royal Palace in Madrid D
H Some of the people I work wth are English D
Some of the people with I work are English D
| Some of the people with who I work are English I I
U Some people with who I work are English I I
?| It's embarrassed when you forget somebody's ame D
U It embarrasses when you forget somebody's ame D
H It's embarrassing when you forget somebody's ame | |
U It's an embarrassment when you forget somebody's ame D
I wi l l go to the party in case she is there D
I wi l l go to the party in case she wil l be there D
I wi l l go to the party in case she might be there D
I wi l l go to the party in case she may be there D
l'm tired so l ' d not rather to go D
i l'm tired so I had rather not go D
l'm tired so I rather not to go D
l'm tired so l'd rather not go D
In the end I gave up waiting D
At the end I gave up waiting D
Lately I gave up waiting D
I gave up waiting endly D
I heard an interesting story in the radio the other day D
I listened an interesting story on the radio the other day D
I heard an interesting story on the radio the other day D
I listened an interesting story in the radio the other day D
The od lady needs somebody to care for her 24 hours a day D
The od lady needs somebody to care about her 24 hours a day D
The od lady needs somebody to care of her 24 hours a day D
The od lady needs somebody to care her 24 hours a day D
NOTAS
24
A N S W E R S
1.C "Enfrente de" is opposite en ingls. In front of significa "delante de". In face of suena un
poco a francs. Se podra admitir la "B" si el verbo acabara en s.
2.a Aunque es correcto decir "Some of the people wth whom I work are...", suena
excesivamente formal . Cuando un verbo con una preposicin forma parte de una oracin
subordinada, la preposicin suele colocarse tras el verbo. Aqu presentamos algunos
ejemplos ms: "The company I work for is based in Madrid" ("La empresa para la que
trabajo tiene su sede principal en Madri d"); "The book I asked for was out of stock" ("El
libro que ped estaba agotado").
3.c Estas frases no tienen nada que ver con esperar un beb! Cuando nos referimos a una
situacin decimos "borING, interestING, embarrassING, etc.", en lugar de "borED,
interestED o embarrassED". "It's an embarrassment" no suena natural aqu.
4.a In case significa "por si..." y, por tanto, la estructura verbal es exactamente la misma que
la de un condi ci onal formal . Nunca JAMS util izamos will despus de if en una oracin
condicional . De la misma forma, nunca decimos will despus de in case. La idea de
incertidumbre que transmiten may y might es redundante porque ya est impl cita en in
case.
5.d "l'd rather not go - Preferira no ir". En este caso, l'd = I wouldy no / had.
6.a In the end equival e a "al f i nal ". Cuando empl eamos at the end siempre hay que
proporcionar informacin adicional . Por ejempl o: "At the end of the match", "At the end of
the day", "At the end of the meeting". Late/y significa "ltimamente" y endly simplemente
no existe.

7.c Normalmente, "We listen to the radio" pero "We hear something on the radio". De forma
similar, "We watch televisin" pero "We see somethingQR televisin".
8.a Care for somebody es "cuidar de al guien". Care about somebody significa "preocuparse por
al guien". Si has respondido "C", te has confundido con la expresin take care of somebody,
que s es sinnima de care for somebody. Care sin preposicin es intransitivo y, por tanto,
no va acompaado de un complemento.
25
l'm sorry for getting angry with you the other day D
l'm sorry o get angry with you the other day D
l'm sorry to have got angry with you the other day D
'm sorry getting angry with you the other day D
I encouraged him to persevere D
I encouraged that he persevere D
I encouraged him that he persevere D
I encouraged to him to persevere D
Are they coming? -I think that yes D
Are they coming? -I think yes D
Are they coming? -I think they do D
Are they coming? -I think so I I
The house was built for my grandfather. It took him three years D
01 The house was built by my grandfather. It took him three years D
The house was builded by my grandfather. It took him three years | |
m The house was builded for my grandfather. It took him three years D
I waited two hours the bus D
I waited the bus two hours D
I waited for two hours the bus D
I waited two hours for the bus D
It won't take longer than half hour D
It won't take longer than half of an hour I I
It won't take longer than the half of an hour D
It won't take longer than half an hour D
As far the company's concerned, it's a big risk D
As
far as the company's concerned, it is a big risk D
As far that the company is concerned, it is a big risk D
Mil As far than the company's concerned, it's a big risk D
CEI When this novel was published? D
0HWhen has this novel been published? D
Q When was this novel published? D
Q[| When did this novel be published? D
NOTAS
26
A N S W E R S
1.a Muy simple: cuando nos lamentamos de un hecho pasado utilizamos "l'm sorry + for".
Como for es una preposicin, si quieres utilizar un verbo despus, tiene que ser en gerundio.
Por otro lado, cuando nos disculpamos por algo que estamos a punto de hacer, la estructura
es "l'm sorry + to + verb". Un ej emplo sera "l'm sorry to tellyou we've decided not to renew
your contract" ("Siento decirte que hemos decidido no renovar tu contrato").
2.a Encourage ( "ani mar ") se comporta igual que los verbos want, asky tell. Es decir, despus
hay que emplear un objeto o un pronombre objeto (me, you, him, her, us, them) y luego "to
+ verbo".
3.d "Creo que s" es siempre igual en ingls, independientemente del tipo de verbo utilizado en la
pregunta: / think so. Lo contrario, "creo que no", es simplemente / don't think so.
4.b Primero: el pasado (y participio) del verbo build es builtcon lo cual podemos descartar las
dos ltimas posibilidades. Segundo: la diferencia entre la "A" y la "B" se resume en la
diferencia entre "para" (que no tiene sentido aqu) y "por" que siempre se traduce con by
dentro de un contexto verbal pasivo.
5.d El verbo wait cuando lleva complemento siempre requiere la preposicin for. Para complicar
las cosas podemos optar por emplear la misma preposicin en cuanto al periodo de tiempo
que esperamos. Pero, al contrario de la primera, esta segunda for no es de rigor.
6.d "Media hora = halfan hour". Conviene memorizar y practicar esta frmula ya que es la nica
forma util izada en ingls.
7.b "En cuanto a. . . ": otra expresin digna de estudio. Es necesario emplear as far as ms el
sujeto, la correspondiente persona del verbo be y el adjetivo concerned. A continuacin,
unos ejemplos: "As far as l'm concerned, it's a waste of time" ("En lo que a m respecta,
es una prdida de tiempo"); "As far as my boss is concerned, t isn't a priority" ("En lo que
a mi j efe respecta, no es una prioridad"); "As far as England's hopes are concerned, l'm
not optimistic" ("En cuanto a las expectativas de Inglaterra, no soy optimista").
8.c Para expresarse bien en la voz pasiva es simplemente cuestin de seguir las reglas del verbo
be. Es decir, cuando formulamos una pregunta, el orden siempre es el mismo/ "verbo +
sujeto + participio". Espero que no hayas puesto la "D", ya que se trata de una aberracin.
Nunca empleamos el auxiliar do/did con otro verbo auxi l i ar (be}. La "B" es incorrecta por el
tiempo utilizado. Por el contexto es obvio que la novela ya ha sido publicada, por lo que
automticamente recurrimos al pasado simple.
27
T E S T 12
I didn' t want any problems so I refused to get involved
I didn't want any problems so I denied to get involved D
I didn' t want any problems so I negated to get involved I I
I didn' t want any problems so I rejected getting involved D
To fool the Plice, he refused involvement I I
To fool the Plice, he negated involvement | |
To fool the Plice, he denied involvement D
To fool the Plice, he rejected involvement D
That book belongs to her D
That book belongs of her D
That books belong to her D
That book belong to her | |
All of we were studying at the same school D
All we were studying at the same school | |
We were studying at the same school all * D
We were all studying at the same school D
He got nine out of ten in the exam I I
He got nine of ten in the exam D
He got nine from ten in the exam | |
He got nine over ten in the exam D
These two wines are extremely similar. . .
There's slightly any difference between them D
V : - There's hardly some difference between them D
H There's slightly some difference between them D
p There's hardly any difference between them D
Helen's so elegant. She gets dressed really well D
m Helen's so elegant. She wears really well D
Helen's so elegant. She dresses herself really well I I
Helen's so elegant. She dresses really well D
Lisa wasn't used to the speed of life n the city D
31 Lisa wasn't get used to the speed of life in the city I I
H Lisa wasn't accustomed herself to the speed of life in the city D
U Lisa didn' t be used to the speed of life in the city D
NOTAS
28
A N S W E R S
1.a Aqu estamos ante cuatro verbos que suelen provocar confusin. Solo el primero es correcto,
ya que refuse significa "negarse". Deny es "negar", mientras que reject significa
"rechazar". Negate ("invalidar una teora") se emplea muy poco.
2.C Esta vez, por el contexto, el verbo es deny ("negar"). La frase significa lo siguiente: "Para
engaar a la polica, neg haber estado involucrado".
3.a El equivalente en ingls al verbo "pertenecer" es belong. Normalmente requiere la
preposicin to. Como el sujeto del verbo est en tercera persona del singular del presente
simple hay que aadir la s. Para que la "C" fuera correcta, habra que cambiar el pronombre
demostrativo a those.
4.d Para indicar "todos" como sujeto del verbo, hay que colocar all despus del sujeto y del
verbo si se trata de un verbo auxiliar y entre el sujeto y el verbo para cualquier verbo no
auxiliar. Propongo un ejemplo de cada: "We all went to the concert" ("Fuimos todos al
concierto"); "We are all excitad about the news" ("Estamos todos ilusionados con la
noticia"). Una alternativa es "all of us" que en ambos casos preceden al verbo: "All of us
went to the concert" ("Fuimos todos al concierto"); "All of us are excited about the riews"
("Estamos todos ilusionados con la noticia").
5.a
B.ti
7.d
8.a
En este caso es simplemente cuestin de aprender esta frmula hecha. Practiquemos: 7/10
("seven out of ten"); 4/5 ("four out of five")-, 3/4 ("three out of four").
Slightly significa "ligeramente" en el sentido de "poco". Nuestra forma de decir "apenas"
es hardly. Hace fal ta emplear any cuando la utilizamos j unto con un sustantivo (contable o
no): "There are hardly any books left" ("Apenas quedan libros"); "There was hardly any
sugar left" ("Apenas quedaba azcar").
Dresses "vestir" o "ir vestido". El verbo wear requiere que se cite la prenda en cuestin ya
que significa "llevar" o "llevar puesto".
"Lisa no estaba acostumbrada al ritmo de vida en la ciudad". Be used to significa "estar
acostumbrado a" y no debe confundirse con get used to ("acostumbrarse a") . La ltima
respuesta supone una barbaridad lingstica!
29
T E S T 13
There's a man at the door
There's a man on the door D
There's a man in the door | |
There's a man over the door D
l ' d rather sit at the shade D
l'd rather sit in the shadow I I
l'd rather sit at the shadow D
l'd rather sit in the shade D
I had rather have an ice cream I I
I I did rather have an ice cream D
I woul d rather have an ice cream D
i I shoul d rather have an ice cream D
He hurt himself the nose D
He hurt himself his nose D
He hurt his nose D
He hurt him the nose D
l ' m r eal l y bored; this class is really boring I I
l'm really boring; this class is r eal l y bored D
I real l y bore; this class r eal l y bores me I I
$ I real l y boring; this class is r eal l y bored D
He is doing this every day D
He do this every day D
He's doin' this every day D
He does this every day D
Is it possible her to come wi th us? D
Is it possible that she come with us? D
Is it possible that she comes with us? D
Is t possible for her to come with us? D
Ten sheep perished in the snow D
Ten sheepes perished in the snow D
Ten sheepies perished in the snow D
- Ten sheeps perished in the snow D
NOTAS
30
A N S W E R S
1.a Preposiciones! Cuando alguien est en la puerta hace fal ta la preposicin at. El uso de on
implica que la puerta ha sido derribada, in da la idea de un hombre incrustado en la misma
puerta, mientras que over describira a un hombre con alas!
2.d Una aclaracin: en ingls existen dos palabras para referirse a "sombra". Shade es
"sombra" en general y shadow la de una persona u objeto en particular. Por cierto, la
preposicin adecuada es in.
3.c l'd ratheres nuestra forma de decir "preferira". La apostrofe + drepresenta el verbo auxil iar
would. Utilizamos esta expresin mucho ms que / would prefer. El verbo preferse usa para
hablar de nuestras preferencias en general, pero para describir una preferencia en un
momento dado o ante un par de opciones, l'd ratheres, mucho ms comn.
4.c No olvides que las partes del cuerpo requieren un adj etivo posesivo. No es suficiente con
emplear el artculo. Suena rarsimo. "Me duele la cabeza", por ej emplo, sera "My head
hurts". Adems, el verbo hurt no es reflexivo en ingls.
5.a La eterna duda para miles de espaoles. Aclarmosla de una vez por todas, "l'm bored"
significa "Estoy aburrido." Por otro lado, "l'm boring" quiere decir "Soy aburrido", o sea
que es una frase que no se suele decir hablando de uno mismo! "/ bore" tampoco se oye
ya que el verbo significa "aburro a los dems".
B.d Muy fcil . Cuando hacemos algo todos los das usamos el presente simple. No hay otra
alternativa. Como en este caso estamos hablando de la tercera persona singular con un
verbo que acaba en o (do), es imprescindible emplear la es al final .
7.d
8.a
Olvida "Is it possible that?". Es una traduccin literal del espaol y no se dice en ingls.
Hay que aprender la estructura. Practica con otros ejemplos para ganar agilidad:
"Is it possible for them to help us?" "Es posible que nos ayuden?"
"Is it possible for us to be invited?" "Es posible que nos inviten?"
"Is it possible for me to take part?" "Es posible que participe?"
Nuestro pl ural para "ovejas" es irregular. Hay que aprenderlo. "One sheep. Two sheep." No
cambia.
31
T E S T 14
John's the only here G
John's the unique one here D
John's the only one here | |
John's sol here O
:? This coffee's quite sour; you might want some sugar G
This coffee's quite bitter; you might want some sugar O
I This coffee's quite tart; you might want some sugar O
l This coffee's quite acrid; you might want some sugar | |
H Seldom do I eat fish G
I I eat fish seldom G
Seldom I eat fish G
ii I eat seldom fish G
I didn' t know if to go up the street or down it G
I didn't know if go up the street or down it G
I didn't know whether go up the street or down it -G
H I didn't know whether to go up the street or down it | |
jjl Would you like to go to the cinema with me? -Yes, l'd love it G
fl Would you like to go to the cinema with me? -Yes, l'd love G
SJll Would you like to go to the cinema with me? -Yes, l'd love to G
SH Would you like to go to the cinema with me? -Yes, l'd love going G
flEl He got fined for parking on a double yellow line G
fl He got found for parking on a double yellow line G
SH He got founded for parking on a double yellow line G
3BI He got multed for parking on a double yellow line G
All she wants is someone with who talk I I
All she wants is someone with to talk O
All she wants is someone talk with O
All she wants is someone to talk to O
Do you intend to go to Albacete?...
If so> you should give my cousin a cali G
If you intend, you should give my cousin a cali O
If yes, you should give my cousin a cal i Q
If you are, you should give my cousin a cali G
NOTAS
32
l.c "El nico aqu" se traduce por "the only one here". En este contexto onlyes un adjetivo y
requiere un sustantivo o pronombre. Unique significa "nico en su genero".
2.b Cuatro palabras que significan ms o menos lo mismo, pero con diferentes matices. Sour
es "agrio" y se uti l i za mucho para describir fl ui dos como vino, leche o crema. Tari significa
"cido" y se suele usar para ctricos y manzanas. Acrid se asocia con un sabor a "azufre",
mientras que bitter, que significa "amargo", se emplea para hablar del caf o del chocolate
( o de personas!).
3.a Seldom ("rara vez") se comporta como la mayora de los adverbios de frecuencia. Es decir
que se coloca justo antes de los verbos no auxiliares y justo despus de los verbos auxiliares.
Por tanto, la "B" y la "D" se pueden descartar. Sera correcto decir "/ seldom eat fish"
("Rara vez como pescado"). Sin embargo, cuando empezamos una oracin con seldom hay
que emplear un verbo auxiliar antes del sujeto. Para los verbos no auxiliares el auxiliar es
do (igual que para formar el interrogativo y el negativo) mientras que para los verbos
auxiliares, incluido el verbo be, es suficiente invertir el mismo verbo con el sujeto. Por
ejemplo, "Seldom am I late" ("Rara vez llego tarde").
4.d Con los verbos remembery knowen negativo y seguidos por dos posibles acciones se suele
utilizar la palabra whethery no if, sobre todo cuando utilizamos un infinitivo. Otro ejemplo:
"/ couldn't remember whether to cali or to go in person" ("No me acordaba si haba que
llamar o ir en persona").
5.c Con los verbos like, love y want, si queremos referirnos a otro verbo ya mencionado sin
repetirlo, hay que util izar to. "Do you want to have some ice cream? I want to but I can't"
("Quieres tomar helado? Quiero pero no puedo").
6.a Cuando te multan decimos "you get fined". Found es el participio del verbo find
("encontrar"); founded es el participio del verbo found (fundar) y multed es spanglishl
7.d "Alguien con quien hablar" ("Someone to talk to"}. Los dems son incorrectos.
8.a En este caso, if so es una forma de no repetir "ifyou intend to go". Esta frmula se emplea
con cual quier tipo de verbo. "Are you willing to he/p? If so (if you are willing to help], give
me a ring" ("Ests dispuesto a ayudar? Si es as, dame un toque").
33
I wish it would stop raining! Q
I wish it stopped raining! \^\
I wish that it stops raining! | |
I wish it is stopping raining! D
Do you think you' l l have to work at Christmas? -I hope no O
Do you think you' l l have to work at Christmas? -I hope that no D
Do you think you'll have to work at Christmas? -I don't hope so O
Do you think you' l l have to work at Christmas? -I hope not O
She wishs she didn' t have said that O
She wishs she hadn't said that Q
She wishes she didn't have said that D
She wishes she hadn't said that O
I won't come with you; I don't feel on to it | |
I won't come with you; I don't feel up to it | |
H I won't come with you; I don't feel over to it O
U I won't come with you I don't feel down to it O
H It's time that we leave O
U It's time for we to leave Q
u It's time for to leave Q
It's time we left D
H You should be ashamed of hit him Q
.
:;
?I You should be ashamed for to have hit him G
You should be ashamed of hitting him O
You should be ashamed in hitting him Q
I ran out of money and must ask Tom to lend me some Q
I ran out of money and had to ask Tom to lend me some O
I ran out of money and must have asked Tom to lend me some O
I ran out of money and musted ask Tom to lend me some O
My boss agreed that I take Monday off O
My boss agreed to my taking Monday off O
My boss was agree that I take Monday off O
My boss agreed with me taking Monday off Q
NOTAS
34
1.a V eamos las expresiones " oj al !" o "me encantara que". Cuando alguien quisiera que otra
persona o cosa hiciera algo en el momento, o algo imposible, utilizamos "/ wish + segundo
sujeto + would + verbo". Es una frmula que expresa bastante exasperacin o desesperacin.
Para ilustrarlo mejor, proponemos ms ejemplos: "/ wish you would hurry up!" (" Me
encantara que te dieras prisa!"); "/ wish he would stop talking!"(" Ojal se callara!"); "/ wish
England would win the World Cup" (" Oj al Inglaterra ganara el Mundial!").
2.d " Espero que no!" A di fer enci a de la expresin "creo que no" ( " / don't think so"), decimos
"/ hope not!".
3.d Lo primero es que estamos ante un verbo que acaba en sh, con lo cual en tercera persona
del singular del presente simple tiene que acabar en es. Cuando nos lamentamos de haber
hecho algo y nos gustara no haberlo hecho se suele util izar el verbo wish. Como nos
referimos a un pasado irreal, no hay que emplear el pasado del siguiente verbo sino "el
pasado del pasado", es decir, el pasado compuesto ("had+ participio"). Ojo! "didn't have"
corresponde al pasado del verbo have cuando significa "tener". En cambio hadn't es el
pasado del verbo have cuando significa "haber".
4.b Una frase hecha que significa "No me siento con fuerzas/ganas". Hay que aprenderlo y
punto.
5.d "Ya es hora de que nos vayamos." La estructura es sencilla: "It's time + sujeto + verbo en
pasado". Para darle ms nfasis a la frase podemos decir "it's high time". Dos ejemplos: "It's
time I stopped smoking" ("Ya es hora de que deje de fumar"); "It's high time I phoned my
brother" ("Ya es hora de que llame a mi hermano").
6.c "Estar avergonzado de algo" es "to be ashamed of something". Cuando va con un verbo, se
emplea la forma -ing. De hecho casi siempre despus de una preposicin hay que utilizar
un gerundio.
7.b Musfes un verbo "modal" que no tiene pasado. Cuando queremos expresar obligacin en
el pasado mustse convierte en had to. La "C" contiene un ejemplo de la forma de expresar
must en el pasado, pero cuando dicho verbo se usa para transmitir una suposicin ("debe
de...") y no una obligacin.
8.b Agree to somebody doing something significa "dar permiso a alguien para que haga algo".
Muchas veces, en vez de emplear un pronombre objeto, expresamos el segundo "sujeto"
util izando un adj etivo posesivo personal (my, your, his, etc.). "She agreed to his going"
("El l a le dio permiso para que fuer a") . Nunca decimos "My boss was agree" (la "C"). Un
pecado lingstico mortal! Agree with someone es "estar de acuerdo con alguien" (la "D")
que por el contexto no tiene sentido aqu.
35
T E S T 16
We met though a mutual fr i end O
We met thorough a mutual friend Q
We met thought a mutual fr i end O
We met through a mutual fr iend O
H Daniel arrived early, who surprised his English teacher O
jf Daniel arrived early, which surprised his English teacher I I
H Daniel arrived early, that surprised his English teacher D
II Daniel arrived early, what surprised his English teacher Q
4 The sheets on your bed need changing G
H The sheets on your bed need change O
The sheets on your bed need to change O
1> The sheets on your bed are needing to change Q
When you meet your opponent, the lesser you say, the better | |
When you meet your opponent, the less you say, the better O
When you meet your opponent, the less you say, the best CJ
When you meet your opponent, the lesser you say, the best O
What colour suit was the candidate wearing you saw yesterday? O
What colour suit was the candidate wearing yesterday you saw? I I
What colour suit was the candidate you saw yesterday wearing? O
What colour suit was the candidate you saw wearing yesterday? Q
It's been two weeks and I still haven't received an answer. It's a disgrace! CU
It's been two weeks and I have stil l received an answer. It's a disgrace! O
It's been two weeks and I haven't still received an answer, It's a disgrace! Q
It's been two weeks and I still have received an answer. It's a disgrace! Q
I work at the night Q
I work for the night O
I work during the night O
a I work by the night D
Not many people like him; he has little friends O
Hl Not many people like him; he has few friends CU
SI Not many people l ike him; he has a few fr i ends O
3J Not many people like him; he has a little friends Q
NOTAS
36
A N S W E R S
1.d La preposicin "a travs" se escribe through y se pronuncia "zru". Por cierto, en la "A"
though significa "aunque" y se pronuncia "zou". En la "B", thorough significa
"concienzudo" y se pronuncia "zara", Y en la "C", thought significa "pensado" y se
pronuncia "zot". Unas palabras preciosas. No las confundas!
2.b Una subordinada relativa que significa.- "Daniel lleg temprano, lo que sorprendi a su
profesor de ingls". En dichos casos cuando "lo que" se refiere a una accin verbal, lo
traducimos con wh/ch.
3.a La estructura "need + -ng" es una forma pasiva de decir "x necesita hacerse". Es muy
comn.
4.b "Cuanto menos (o ms)... mejor". Estamos ante una comparacin, por lo cual se requiere
el comparativo better. Best es el superlativo e incorrecto en esta frase. Lesser no suele
usarse salvo en unas frases hechas como: "the lesser of two evils" ("el mal menor"); "to a
lesser degree" ("en menor grado").
5.C Estars pensando que siempre decimos que hay que colocar las referencias temporales al
final de la oracin. Y es cierto. Lo que pasa en este caso es que las palabras "you saw
yesterday" constituyen una oracin subordinada relativa en s. Describen la palabra
candidate y toda esta informacin tiene que ir antes del verbo principal wearing. Otro
ejemplo: "Where was the watch you bought last week made?".
6.a La palabra s/7/ no suele usarse en frases negativas. Sin embargo, cuando quieres ser un
poco ms enftico, s que se puede. "It's a d/sgrace!" significa " Es una vergenza!", por
tanto, s/7/ en este contexto vale.
7.c La "A" sera correcta si no fuera por el artculo the. La "B" y la "D" son totalmente
incorrectas. La nica opcin es during. Ten en cuenta que la regla es siempre "during +
sustantivo" y nunca "during + perodo de tiempo". Decir "during two hours" est
completamente prohibido!
8.b La nica que es gramaticalmente incorrecta es la "D". La "A" puede significar que tiene
amigos pequeos y la "C" que tiene unos pocos amigos (una frase con un matiz positivo que
no cuadra con la primera sin conjuncin). La traduccin de la respuesta correcta es: "No le
cae bien a mucha gente. Tiene pocos amigos."
37
T E S T 17
Fancy to meet you here! D
Fancy meet you here! D
Fancy meeting you here! D
u Fancy meets you here! D
P A l l the Information was lost - as it sometimes happens in such cases D
T| All the information was lost - as sometimes it happens n such cases D
H All the information was lost - as sometimes happens in such cases D
H All the information was lost - as sometimes happens it in such cases I I
U He put the keys into a small wooden black box D
H He put the keys into a wooden small black box D
H He put the keys into a black smal l wooden box D
H He put the keys into a small black wooden box D
How long does it last to get there? D
II How long do you last to get there? D
How long does t take to get there? D
U How long do you take to get there? D
U I don' t think you should do that; it's dangerous D
i! I don't think you may do that; it's dangerous D
I don't thi nk you coul d do that; it's dangerous D
I I don't think you must do that; it's dangerous D
This soup is delicious; could you give me the receipt? D
': < $ This soup is delicious; could you give me the recipe? D
: 'M This soup is del icious; could you give me the for mul a? |
This soup is delicious; could you give me the instructions? D
'"Qt They're over there looking at their chai r D
They're over their l ooking at there chai r D
There over their looking at they're chai r D
Their over they' re looking at there chai r D
We had no di ffi cul ti es fi ndi ng the offi ce I I
We hadn' t di ffi cul ti es fi ndi ng the offi ce I I
We had none difficul ties f i ndi ng the offi ce D
We hadn' t any di ffi cul ti es fi ndi ng the offi ce D
NOTAS
38
A N S W E R S
1.c Esta frase significa "Qu casualidad encontrarme contigo aqu!". De hecho, la palabra
fancy, cuando se usa como una interjeccin, no tiene una traduccin directa en espaol.
Casi siempre expresa sorpresa o incredulidad, y va seguida del gerundio. Aqu hay ms
ejemplos: "Fancy that!" ("Mira t!"); "Fancy do/ng a thing like that!" ("Cmo se le ocurre
hacer una cosa as!"); "Fancy hlm being e/ected Presldent!" ("Quin iba a decir que le
elegiran como Presidente!").
2.c "Qu? La segunda oracin va sin sujeto?". Pues s. En este caso, la primera oracin en su
totalidad constituye el sujeto de la segunda.
3.d Normalmente los adjetivos de opinin vienen antes que los adjetivos de hecho. Pero cuando
tenemos varios adjetivos de hecho juntos, como en el ejemplo, deberan seguir un orden
especfico: 1) Tamao, 2) Edad, 3) Forma, 4) Color, 5) Nacionalidad, 6) Material, y
Sustantivo. Por ejemplo: "She wore a huge red woo/len jumper"; "We bought a big od
Engsh house"; "They sat at a large rectangular wooden table".
4.c El verbo take significa "tardar" mientras que el verbo /as se traduce por "durar". Aunque
oirs la "D" en pases angloparlantes, no se considera buen ingls personalizar este verbo.
El sujeto debe ser it.
5.a Como se trata de una recomendacin subjetiva (como indica el verbo think), el verbo modal
correcto es should (debera).
6.b La traduccin de recipe es "receta". Ten cuidado con la pronunciacin: "re sapi". En la "A"
receipt significa "recibo" o "ticket" y se pronuncia "resit".
7.a La contraccin they're (they are), el adjetivo posesivo theiry el adverbio there. No es tan
difcil distinguirlos por escrito. Sin embargo, los tres se pronuncian "zer".
8.a Podemos descartar la "B" y la "D" porque la contraccin hadn't solo se dice cuando
estamos hablando del verbo auxiliar equivalente a "haber" y no del verbo equivalente a
"tener". La "C" tambin es incorrecta porque la palabra none nunca va delante de un
sustantivo.
39
T E S T 18
My mother-in-law wil l be staying for two weeks with us
My mother-in-law wi l l be for two weeks staying with us
My mother-in-law will be staying with us for two weeks
OH My mother-in-law for two weeks wi l l be staying with us
03EI I couldn't avoid to laugh when I saw her hat D
$301 I couldn't help laughing when I saw her hat
QH I couldn' t avert to laugh when I saw her hat
E! I couldn't annul laughing when I saw her hat
jtf?l l'm smart enough to get in the restaurant, am not I?
l'm smart enough to get in the restaurant, amn' t I?
Bl'm smart enough to get in the restaurant, isn't I?
fcwtl l'm smart enough to get in the restaurant, aren't I?
Q He remembers being told how to count to ten D
CTl He remembers that being told how to count to ten D
CT He remembers that to be told how to count to ten 'D
OS He remembers that they told how to count to ten D
3E1 Is it a possibility that I might can use your phone, please? D
dH Would you be so kind as to let me use your phone, please? D
3RI Would t be possible that I could to use your phone, please? D
fSH Do you think you would allow me use your phone, please? D
OEI London is the biggest city of the UK D
I2JJ; London is the bigger city in the UK D
Ql London is the most big city the UK D
dH London is the biggest city the UK D
What will happen if someone finds out? D
What will happen if someone finds over? D
What will happen if someone finds in? D
* < What will happen if someone finds under? D
He suggested me that went to the doctor's | |
He suggested me go to the doctor's D
He suggested that I go to the doctor's D
He suggested me to go to the doctor's D
NOTAS
40
A N S W E R S
1.c Las referencias temporales suelen ir al final de la frase, aunque a veces pueden colocarse
al principio de la misma, pero casi nunca en medio. Por ejemplo, "Last year I went to
Berln" o "/ went to Berln lastyear".
2.b La traduccin directa del espaol avoid ("evit ar") en el ej empl o "A" suena muy forzada. No
sera un error demasiado grande si no fuera por el inf init ivo que viene despus. Siempre
decimos "avoid + verbo acabado en -ing". Huelga decir que los verbos de la "C" y la "D"
son completamente errneos, primero porque avert significa "apartar" (los ojos, por
ejemplo), mientras que annul significa "anular", y segundo porque ninguno de estos verbos
puede funcionar j unto a otro verbo. Para decir "no lo puedo evitar" tenemos una expresin
hecha: / can't help it.
3.d Esta frase significa "Voy suficientemente bien vestido para entrar en el restaurante no?".
Curiosamente, amn'tno existe al resultar imposible de pronunciar. Una alternativa a "aren't
/"ser a "..., am I not?", aunque suena muy formal.
4.a El gerundio tellingse convierte en being told en la voz pasiva. "He remembers being told"
expresa lo mismo que "He remembers someone tel/ing him". Otro ejemplo: "/ don't lke
being callea at home without a good reason" ("No me gusta que la gente me llame a casa
sin una buena razn").
5.b La "A" no vale porque hay dos verbos modales juntos mighty can. En la "C", el verbo modal
couldebe ir con el infinitivo sin to. En cambio, en la "D", el verbo allowva con el infinitivo
con to. Parece mentira, pero la "B" es correcta, aunque muy educada y particular. Algo ms
informal sera, "Can I use your phone, please?".
6.d Despus de los superlativos usamos in con lugares (pueblos, ciudades, edificios) y of con
referencias de tiempo. Por ejemplo, "the hottest month of the year"; "the happiest day of
my IIfe"; "the most expensive house in the village"; "the rnost important bank in the city".
No confundas los superlativos con los comparativos (la B)!
7.a Un phrasal verb muy til que significa "enterarse" o "averiguar". Los otros tres ejemplos
(find over, find in y find under) no existen como verbos compuestos.
8.c Nunca colocamos un pronombre personal (objeto) directamente despus del verbo suggest.
41
T E S T 19
We need to order some news office furniture
We need to order some new office furnitures I I
We need to order some new office furniture I I
We need to order some news office furnitures I I
l'd rather listen to music than do my homework
l'd rather listen to music that do my homework d
l'd rather to listen to music than to do my homework
l'd rather listen music than do my homework D
We showed our work to a good friend of us d
We showed our work to a good friend of we
We showed our work to a good friend of ours
We showed our work to a good friend of our
There's no pont in buying a piano if you' re never going to play it
There's no purpose in buying a piano if you' re never going to play it
There's no meaning n buying a piano if you' re never going to play it Q
: There's no reason in buying a piano if you're never going to play it D
I went to England for learn English d
I went to England for to learn English I I
I went to England for learning English
I went to England to learn English I I
She cutted her finger with the knife I I
She cutted herself the finger with the knife
She cut her finger with the knife
She cut herself the finger with the knife d
My mother-in-law has been staying with us for the last week d
My mother-in-law has been staying with us since a week d
My mother-in-law has been staying with us for a week ago d
My mother-in-law has been staying with us since the last week d
The smoking is bad for your health d
To smoke is bad for your health d
Smoking is bad for your health d
The smoke is bad for your health d
NOTAS
42
A N S W E R S
1.c En primer lugar, la palabra fumture no existe en plural. Es incontable. Por eso podemos
descartar la "B" y la "D". Los adjetivos tampoco tienen forma plural, as que la "A" tampoco
vale.
2.a La estructura "preferira + verbo + que" se traduce por would rather + verbo bsico sin to
+ than, lo cual descarta la "B" y la "C". La "D" es incorrecta porque fal ta la palabra to
despus del verbo listen.
3.c Para decir "un buen amigo nuestro" decimos "a good friend of ours", empleando el
pronombre posesivo personal. De la misma manera decimos "a good friend of mine; a good
friend of yours; a good friend of his; a good friend of hers; a good friend of theirs".
4.a "No sirve de nada." La frmula que usamos en ingls es: "there's no point in + verbo en
gerundio (-ing)". Podemos igualmente decir "it's no use + verbo en gerundio (-ing)". Por
cierto, la palabra parpse significa "propsito".
5.d Normalmente en ingls "para + verbo" es "to + verbo". Cuando digo normalmente me
refiero al 99,99% de los casos, as que conviene memorizarlo. Solo decimos "for + verbo"
cuando hablamos de la funcin de algo. Un ejemplo sera: "A corkscrew is for opening
bottles" ("Un sacacorchos sirve para abrir botellas"). La B se oye mucho en la Pennsula
Ibrica pero solo entre los espaoles! No se dice nunca for to.
6.c Hay que tener en cuenta dos cosas para dar aqu con la respuesta correcta. La primera es
que el pasado del verbo cut es cut (y el participio tambin). La segunda es que el verbo
"cortarse" deja de ser reflexivo en ingls cuando mencionamos la parte del cuerpo que
cortamos. Nosotros desplazamos el aspecto reflexivo empleando el adjetivo posesivo con la
parte del cuerpo. Propongo ms ejemplos: "/ cut my face" ("Me cort en la cara"); "She
cut her leg" ("Ella se cort en la pierna").
7.a Cuando una accin se realiza durante un periodo de tiempo determinado empleamos la
palabra for justo antes de la referencia a dicho periodo. Since se utiliza cuando la accin
se realiza desde un momento puntual. Podramos decir "My mother-in-law has been staying
with us since last Monday". "A week ago" hace referencia a un tiempo pasado, con lo que
el verbo tendra que ir en pasado.
8.c Verbos sustantivados: en ingls se usa el gerundio, pero sin el artculo.
43
T E S T 20
Some of people watched the event from the roadside I |
Some of the people watched the event from the roadside D
Some the people watched the event from the roadside D
QH Some people watched the event of the roadside D
SH Last weekend I spent much money D
BI Last weekend I spent many money | |
MPi Last weekend I spent a lot of money | |
MB Last weekend I spent lots money D
^ The bar was plenty with people D
HJf The bar was plenty of people D
H The bar was full of people I I
The bar was crowded of people D
Nobody doesn't tell him nothing D
tff Nobody doesn't tell him anything | |
fu Anybody tells him nothing D
Nobody tells him anything D
What time shall we meet? D
(@QI What time shall we meet us? D
w< ;S What time shall we meet ourselves? D
OH What time shall we meet each others? D
The couple I met on holiday were such nice people D
The couple I met on holiday were so nice people D
The couple I met on holiday was such nice people D
The couple I met on holiday was so nice people I I
There's a supermarket just around the crner; it's very comfortable D
There's a supermarket just around the crner; it's very opportune D
There's a supermarket just around the crner; it's very fortnate | |
II There's a supermarket just around the crner; it's very convenient D
U Ahhhh! There's a huge black spider in the ceiling! D
||* Ahhhh! There's a huge black spider at the ceiling! D
fu Ahhhh! There's a huge black spider on the ceiling! D
II Ahhhh! There's a huge black spider under the ceiling! D
NOTAS
44
A N S W E R S
1.b Si no tenemos en cuenta la ltima parte de las frases, nos quedan como correctas la "B" y
la "D", pero con una clara diferencia en cuanto al significado de cada una de ellas. "Some
of the people" significa "algunas de las personas" y "Some people", "algunas personas".
Lo mismo vale para otras palabras, como most, many, few-. "Most people", "Most of the
people". Finalmente, el error al usarse la preposicin of descarta la "D".
2.c El dinero es incontable. Por muy raro que parezca, gramaticalmente hablando, contamos
euros, libras, dlares, o lo que sea, pero no el dinero en s! Decir "many money" (la "B")
es un error tremendo. En la "D" fal ta la preposicin of, y tampoco solemos usar la palabra
much como aparece en la "A", en frases afirmativas, lo cual nos deja la "C" como nica
opcin correcta.
3.c El nico adjetivo que vale aqu es full ("lleno"). La palabra plenty significa "ms que
suficiente"; por tanto, "El bar fue con ms que suficiente gente" no tiene mucho sentido.
En cambio, en la "D", crowded ("abarrotado") estara bien si no fuera por la preposicin of:
en ingls siempre utilizamos with con este adj etivo.
4.d En la "A" tenemos un triple negativo y en la "B" un doble negativo. En ingls solo podemos
util izar un negativo por oracin. Para nosotros es algo lgico, igual que en matemticas: dos
negativos es igual a un positivo. La "C" carece de todo sentido.
5.a En ingls, el verbo meet ("encontrarse con/quedar") no es reflexivo: la reciprocidad se
sobreentiende. S se puede decir meet each other(sm la sque aparece en la "D"), pero es
ms normal omitirlo o incluso usar el phrasal verb meet up\ "What time shall we meet up?"
("A qu hora quedamos?").
6.a Recuerda las siguentes estructuras: "so + adjetivo" o "such + adjetivo + sustantivo en
plural". Por tanto, podemos decir: "The people were so nice" o "They were such nice
people". Huelga decir que people es plural. Reptelo mil veces: "people are", "people
were", "people are", "people were", "people are", "people were"...
7.d Empleamos el adjetivo comfortable cuando hablamos de comodidad fsica (un silln grande,
cojines, etc.) o psquica ("tener confianza con alguien"). No solemos utilizar la palabra
opportune salvo en el ejemplo "an opportune moment", pero realmente suena un poco
pretencioso hoy en da. Convenient indica que algo nos viene bien o que nos facilita la vida.
8.c Aunque la araa est under ("bajo el techo"), usamos la preposicin on para expresar que
est en contacto con la superficie.
45
T E S T 21
s*
:
: The safety features on this car will protect you in an accident [~|
The features safety on this car wil l protect you in an accident | |
The security features on this car will protect you in an accident | |
The features security on this car wi l l protect you n an accident G
My husband runs a lot in his car G
My husband courses a lot in his car G
My husband drives fast in his car G
My husband runs fast in his car | |
He bought his wife a little roundabout for her birthday G
He bought his wife a little runabout for her birthday G
He bought his wife a little runaway for her birthday G
He bought his wife a little running for her birthday G
Get out! l'm sure we can squeeze another person in G
C1PI Get in! l'm sure we can squeeze another person in G
CJ5 Get off! l'm sure we can squeeze another person in .- G
Cffif Get up! l'm sure we can squeeze another person in G
jjfffl I think my brakes have breaked | |
fell I think my breaks have spent G
J5IP I think my brakes have wrong G
UI I think my brakes have gone G
He broke really hard but still hit the car in front G
He breaked hard but still hit the car in front O
He bruck really hard but still hit the car in front G
He braked really hard but still hit the car in front G
She swerved and just lost the od lady G
She swerved and just mist the od lady O
She swerved and just missed the od lady G
She swerved and just evited the od lady G
My car is a bit rusty G
301 My car is a bit oxidated G
:ffl My car is a bit corroded G
3EI My car is a little bit oxidated G
NOTAS
46
A N S W E R S
1.a Cuando hablamos de seguridad en trminos de proteccin en caso de accidente, la palabra
adecuada es safety. El vocablo security significa "seguridad" en contra de personas
malvadas (ladrones, asesinos, etc.). Ahora veamos el orden de las palabras: cuando dos
sustantivos van juntos y se complementan, el primero siempre describe al segundo. En este
caso estamos hablando de prestaciones, as que safety debe preceder a features.
2.c En ingls no se dice run a lot para correr mucho en coche. Se dice drive fast. Run es correr
fsicamente y a una mente angloparlante le suena absurdo asociarlo a un coche. El verbo
course es un verbo en peligro de extincin. Se util iza hablando de sangre: "Your blood
courses through your veins" ("La sangre corre por tus venas").
3.b Cuestin de vocabulario. No vas a comprar un roundaboutpara una persona querida ya que
significa "rotonda". Espero que tampoco se te ocurra regalar un runawayya que son difciles
de localizar tratndose de "fugitivos". Podemos decir "/ did a little runningyesterday" que
significara "hice un poco de footing ayer" pero running no es un objeto que se compre.
Todo esto nos deja con la opcin runabout, un trmino carioso que significa "cochecito",
o sea un coche pequeo para uso en la ciudad.
4.b Cuando subimos a un coche util izamos el verbo get in ya que un coche es un espacio
reducido y hay que agacharse para entrar. El antnimo sera get out. Obviamente, por el
contexto donde estamos invitando a otra persona a entrar en un coche la "A" no tiene
sentido. Get off ("baj ar") es lo contrario de get on ("subir"), pero solo se utiliza cuando nos
referimos a medios de transporte grandes como autobuses, trenes, aviones o barcos.
5.d "Creo que me he quedado sin frenos." En ingls decimos en este momento de pnico
absoluto, que "se nos han ido los frenos". Ahora viene lo ms importante: existen dos verbos
homnimos (que se pronuncian igual) break ("romper") y brake ("frenar"). El primero es
irregular. Su pasado simple es bmkeas que la "A" es incorrecta. Es ms, estamos hablando
de frenos brakes, por lo que descartamos la "B". La "C" es totalmente incorrecta desde el
punto de vista gramatical.
6.d Seguimos hablando de los mismos dos verbos. En este caso estamos hablando de frenar, un
verbo regular cuyo pasado es brakedy cuyo participio perfecto tambin es braked. La "C"
es un invento, fruto de nuestra creatividad!
7.c "Ella dio un volantazo y por poco no atropello a la anciana." Cuando no golpearnos a una
cosa o persona por poco, utilizamos el verbo miss, cuyo pasado es missed y no mist que
significa "neblina". Lose no tiene sentido en este caso. Aunque sera muy cmodo para los
espaoles, evite no existe en ingls, lo siento!
8.a Otra vez estamos ante una cuestin de vocabul ario. "Oxidado" es rusty, que se pronuncia
"rasti". Corrode existe en ingls pero se usa muy poco, y en este contexto nunca. Por
cierto, si estabas dudando entre la "B" y la "D" (ambas incorrectas), no hay ninguna
diferencia entre a little bit y a bit.
47
TEST 22
I
You were quite right to mention it D
You were very right to mention it D
You were much right to mention t D
U You were super right to mention t D
U I know her not much D
U I hardly know her D
u I know her very little D
J| I don't know her very good D
Don't disturb Tom; he's really concentrated D
31 Don't disturb Tom; he's very concentrating D
H Don't disturb Tom; he's very concentrated I I
Don't disturb Tom; he's really concentrating D
Everybody enjoyed the concert a lot D
Everybody enjoyed very much the concert D
Everybody enjoyed a lot the concert D
J Everybody enjoyed really much the concert D
Thank you. That's very kind on your part D
Mil Thank you. That's awfully kind of you D
HH Thank you. That's very amiable on you D
Thank you. That's very pleasant of your part D
I I agree with you, until a certain point D
3J I agree with you, reaching a certain point D
3 I agree with you, getting to a certain point D
HU I agree with you, up to a certain point D
If l'd know it was you, I would' ve answered the cal i D
Had I known it was you, I would' ve answered the cal i I I
If l'd known it was you, l'd answered the cali D
If l'd have known it was you, I would've answered the cali D
Did you remember to lock the front door? D
Did you remember locking the front door? D
Did you remember lock the front door? D
Did you remember locking of the front door? | |
NOTAS
48
A N S W E R S
1.a Antes de ciertos adj etivos, la pal abr a quite (normal mente "bastante") signif ica
"completamente"; por ejemplo, sure, true, wrong, different, certain: "Are you quite sure?"
("Ests completamente seguro?") "My idea is quite different" ("Mi idea es completamente
distinta"). El adverbio very no suele ser empleado con be right. Otros adverbios que s se
utilizan con rightsori: absolutely, total/y, utterly, complete/y. Much nunca puede acompaar
a un adjetivo mientras que super suena a spang/ish total.
2.b La traduccin de "la conozco rnuy bien" es "/ know her very well". Sin embargo, la frase "no
la conozco muy bien" o "la conozco muy poco", solo tiene una posibilidad en ingls: "/ don't
know her very well". Puesto que esto no aparece, solamente la "B" ("Apenas la conozco") vale.
3.d En ingls el adjetivo equivalente a "concentrado" (concentrated) no suele usarse para
referirse a personas, sino para sustancias qumicas o lquidos. Si queremos expresar la idea
de una persona "muy concentrada", normalmente utilizamos el verbo concntrate. La "B"
es incorrecta debido a que la palabra very nunca puede modificar un verbo en gerundio. El
adverbio correcto es really.
4.a Una regla general que te vendr bien recordar ya que omos errores de este tipo tan a
menudo es que, en ingls, el verbo y el complemento directo casi nunca vienen separados
por otras palabras. Por lo tanto, en este ejemplo, el verbo enjoyy el objeto "the concert"
deben ir juntos.
5.b La "A" y la "D" son traducciones literales del espaol que no val en. La traduccin correcta
de "Muy amable por su parte" es "That's very kind of you". Desafortunadamente, eso no
aparece como opcin. La palabra amiable (la "C") no se usa mucho y adems nunca con la
preposicin on, lo cual nos deja solo la "B". Algunos adverbios que parecen algo negativos
pueden tener una funcin enftica y positiva (terribly, awfully, desperately, frightfully),
aunque debes tener en cuenta que suenan un poco pos/7.
6.d La palabra "hasta" en la expresin "hasta cierto punto" no se traduce en ingls con until
(la "A"); en general, utilizamos esta palabra con referencias a momentos puntuales en el
tiempo. Para hablar de periodos de tiempo o cosas fsicas (o en este caso metafricas)
empleamos la expresin up to.
7.b En la "A" falta la "n" al final de know para formar el participio perfecto. En la "C" falta la
palabra have en la segunda oracin antes de answered. Y finalmente, en la "D" sobra la
palabra have en la primera oracin. La "B" es una variante vlida del tercer condicional.
Expresada de la manera ms comn sera: "If l'd known it was you, I would've answered
the cali".
8.a Recuerda que hay dos usos del verbo remember. El primero tiene que ver con recordar algo
por necesidad ("acordarse") y el segundo tiene que ver con conservar algo en la memoria.
La estructura gramatical del verbo remember cambia segn cul de los dos usos
pretendamos emplear. En el primer caso sera "remember + to do something" y en el
segundo "remember + doing". La "B" es tcnicamente correcta pero, por el contexto, suena
algo absurda. Es ms, casi nunca hacemos la pregunta con remember doing en el pasado.
Se suele preguntar "Doyou remember doing...?".
49
TEST 23
She s the most beautiful woman in the world D
She s the woman most beautiful n the worl d D
CT She is the beautifulest woman n the world D
mi She s the more beautiful woman in the world D
ME1 I was said very clearly D
dH I was told very clearly D
CJ I was signaled very clearly I I
d5l I was spoken very clearly D
tJEI I would had have to work as a slave D
QH I would have must work like a slave D
ca I would have must to work as a slave D
I would have had to work like a slave I I
The cocktail pianist was playing a lovely music D
The cocktail pianist was playing any lovely music D
The cocktail pianist was playing a lovely piece of music I I
; i The cocktail pianist was playing a lovely music piece D
Suddenly, the piano's lid slammed on his fingers | |
Suddenly, the piano lid slammed on his fingers D
Suddenly, the lid of the piano it slammed on his fingers D
Suddenly, the piano's lid it slammed on his fingers D
The woman sitting next to me passed out I I
P! The woman who was sat next to me she passed out | |
The woman who was sat next to me passed down | |
II The woman sat next to me passed down D
SU Unfortunately, there wasn't any doctor in the bar D
Unfortunately, there weren't doctors in the bar D
Unfortunately, there were no doctors n the bar D
H Unfortunately, there weren't no doctors in the bar D
u Luckily, an ambulance arrived shortly after D
'Qi Luckily, an ambulance arrived after nothing | |
J Luckily, an ambulance arrived with little time D
Luckily, an ambulance arrived in timely moment D
NOTAS
50
A N S W E R S
1.a Dos cosas. Primero, los adjetivos, sean normales o superlativos, preceden a los sustantivos
que describen. Y segundo, para convertir un adjetivo de tres slabas o ms (y la mayora de
los de dos sl abas) en superlativo, simplemente le anteponemos las palabras "the most".
2.b El verbo $ay no se usa en pasiva de forma personal. S podemos decir "it was said" (fue
dicho). La misma regla nos sirve para el verbo speak, aunque este se emplea an menos en
la voz pasiva. Un ejemplo sera "The words were spoken soft/y"("Las palabras fueron dichas
suavemente"). Tampoco usamos el verbo signa! en voz pasiva con un sujeto personal sino
con uno impersonal. Por ejemplo, "The roadworks were badly signalled" ("Las obras
estaban mal seal izadas").
3.d "Habra tenido que trabaj ar como un esclavo." Hay una cl ara diferencia entre "work lke a
slave" ("trabajar como un esclavo") y "work as a slave" ("trabajar como esclavo").
Afortunadamente, hoy en da en Espaa nadie puede decir "/ work as a slave". Had nunca
puede ir despus de would ya que este ltimo es un verbo auxil iar que, como todos los
verbos auxil iares, siempre requiere el i nf i ni t i vo sin to. Have must tampoco es una
combinacin correcta.
4.c
5.b
6.a
"Msica" es un sustantivo incontable, por lo que en ingls solemos decir music a secas o
"some music". Si quieres hablar de una pieza de msica, decimos "a p/ece of music" y no
"a music p/ece".
Cuando hablamos de partes de una totalidad y esta totalidad es un objeto inanimado, no
usamos el genitivo sajn (apostrofe + s). Colocamos la parte (en este caso lid) justo detrs
de la totalidad (piano). Otro ejemplo: "piano keys" ("las teclas del piano"). No caigas en el
error de emplear dos sujetos para el mismo verbo: it sobra ya que hemos puesto "piano lid".
Primero, el phrasal verb pass down (la "C" y la "D") significa "dejar en herencia": "This
watch was passed down to me by my grandfather" ("Este reloj lo hered de mi abuelo").
Sin embargo, pass out significa desmayarse, lo cual tiene mucho ms sentido en este
contexto. Segundo, y como ya hemos visto en el nmero 5, no se puede repetir el sujeto
para el mismo verbo (la "B").
7.C Doble negacin (la "D")? Ni en broma! En la "B" solo falta la palabra importantsima any
antes del sustantivo en pl ural . Y para arreglar la "A", tendramos que sustituir la palabra
any por el artculo "a".
8.a Shortly after y shortly before ("poco despus" y "un poco antes") se usan mucho en ingls:
"Shortly after we arrived" ("Poco despus de que llegramos"), "Shortly before midday"
("Poco antes del medioda"). Sin embargo, los otros tres son productos de la imaginacin
de una persona sobreexpuesta a estudiantes de ingls!
51
What did you be doing when he arrived? D
What you was doing when he arrived? D
What were you doing when he arrived? I I

;
What was you doing when he arrived? D
| I wash wasing the car when he arrived D
B I was washed the car when he arrived D
H I was washing the car when he arrived D
H I was washed to the car when he arrived D
31 Was he wearing a tie when he arrived? D
u Was he wearing tie when he arrived? D
H Was he dressing tie when he arrived? D
3 Was he woring a tie when he arrived? D
Was he saluting when he arrived? D
Was he greeting when he arrived? D
Was he saying helio when he arrived? D
Did he say "helio" when he arrived? D
Was he talking to himself when he arrived? D
Was he talking with himself when he arrived? D
Was he talking him when he arrived? D
Did he talk with himself when he arrived? D
I couldn' t tell whether he was talking or not D
I couldn't know whether he was talking or not D
I couldn't know whether or not he was talking D
I couldn't tell whether was he talking or not D
I didn't realise how important was he I I
I didn't realize how important he was D
I didn' t realise the important he was D
H I didn't realize the importance was he I I
He didn't introduce to him D
H He didn't present him D
H He didn't present himself D
He didn't introduce himself D
NOTAS
A N S W E R S
1.c En primer lugar, nunca empleamos el verbo aux i l i ar do/does/did con el verbo be. Segundo,
estamos buscando la pregunta correctamente formulada en pasado continuo. Hay que
invertir sujeto y verbo. Adems hay que emplear el verbo be en segunda persona: were. Est
claro, no?
2.c La misma estructura. La "A" es una trampa ptica para pil l arte. El uso del verbo en pasiva
en la "B" y la "D" no tiene sentido alguno. Por cierto, es raro usar el verbo wash en voz
pasiva hablando de personas, a no ser que sea en el contexto de personas enfermas,
incapaces de lavarse ellos mismos.
3.a Llevar puesta una corbata es simplemente weary nunca dress, que significa "vestir a otra
persona". El gerundio (obviamente) es wearing. La "D" es una mezcla extraa del gerundio
y el pasado simple del verbo (wore). Cuando hablamos de llevar una prenda singular, es
necesario emplear el artculo a. Por ejemplo: "l'm wearing a tie" ("Llevo corbata").
4.d El verbo que solemos utilizar para saludar a una persona es say helio. Como se trata de una
accin que no se prolonga en el tiempo, no lo expresamos en un tiempo verbal continuo. Se
saluda y ya est. No se puede estar saludando durante un rato. Aparte de esto, el verbo greet
apenas se usa hoy en da. Por otro lado, el verbo salute significa "saludar" pero en un
contexto militar.
5.a Al contrario que en el ejemplo anterior, la opcin correcta tiene que estar en pasado continuo.
Hablar con uno mismo no es una accin momentnea, sino una que se prolonga en el tiempo.
Adems, aunque se puede decir tanto talk to someone como talk with someone, cuando
empleamos el verbo de forma reflexiva solo vale talk to yourself.
6.a Cuando llegamos a una concl usin (o no) de forma intuitiva, es muy comn emplear el verbo
tell. Por ejemplo "/ can't tell" ("No sabra decirte"). Casi nunca se usa el verbo know en
conj uncin con el verbo can. La "D" est mal por el orden incorrecto del sujeto y el verbo
be-, "was he talking" es una pregunta directa. Se puede decir "whether or not he was
talking" o "whether he was talking or not". La palabra whether es sinnima de if, pero es
preferible emplearla cuando aadimos "or not".
7.b Existen dos posibilidades de escribir "darse cuenta", ortogrficamente hablando: realise
(ortografa britnica) y realize (ortografa norteamericana). Cuando no sabemos / no nos
damos cuenta de lo importante o lo grande que es algo, traducimos "lo + adjetivo" por "how
+ adjetivo". Propongo ms ejemplos: "/ didn't know how late it was" ("No saba lo tarde que
era") "/ didn't realise how far it was" ("No me di cuenta de lo lejos que estaba"). La "A" es
incorrecta ya que el orden empleado es el de una pregunta directa.
8.d El verbo que empleamos para "presentarse a otra persona" es introduce oneself (to
someone). "I introduce myself-, you introduce yourself; he introduces himself; she
introduces herself; we introduce ourselves; they introduce themselves". Presentse usa para
"presentar algo". Por ejemplo, "She presented the company figures last night" ("Present
las cifras de la empresa anoche").
53
T E S T 25
.; * The company s such big that l ' l l need a map to find his office I I
OH It's such a big company that l ' l l need a map to f i nd his office O
tflTI It's so big the company that l ' l l need a map to find his office CU
So big is the company that l ' l l need a map to find his office O
SU Yesterday, I almost lost myself D
SU Yesterday, I almost was lost D
&Yesterday, I almost became lost O
fu Yesterday, I almost got lost D
H My boss told me he was wanting a new secretary CU
! My boss told me he is wanting a new secretary O
& My boss told me he wanted a new secretary CU
Su My boss told me he want a new secretary CU
He wants that I hire a secretary as soon as possible CU
frjl He wants me to contract a secretary as soon as possible CJ
He wants that I contract a secretary as soon as possible ' C U
He wants me to hire a secretary as soon as possible O
The report will be ready by Friday Cu
The report wil l be ready for the Friday CU
The report will be ready on the Friday CU
The report will be ready to Friday CU
PIP How many are you in the company? CU
@G| How many of you are there in the company? CJ
Iini How many of there are you in the company? | |
How many you are in the company? CU
My collegue's desks are always tidy O
ii My collegues' desk is always tidy I I
My collegues' desks are always tidy CU
fli My collegues's desk is always tidy D
The company is to the edge of bankruptcy D
The company is to the border of bankruptcy O
The company is on the boundary of bankruptcy O
The company s on the brink of bankruptcy I I
NOTAS
54
A N S W E R S
1.b Aqu se trata de dos estructuras muy f ci l es de confundir. El problema radica en que en
ingls tenemos dos palabras ( soy such), y en espaol solo hay una ("tan"). Con la palabra
so la estructura es "sujeto + be + so + adj etivo". Y con la palabra such la estructura es
"sujeto + be + such (a /an) + adjetivo + sustantivo". La nica que usa correctamente esta
estructura es la "B".
2.d El verbo "perderse", como muchos verbos reflexivos en espaol , se traduce como "get +
participio". Te proponemos ms ejemplos: get dressed ("vestirse"), get married("casarse"),
get tired (cansarse).
3.c Hay varios verbos (normalmente se llaman "non-action verbs") que no suelen expresarse en
los tiempos continuos. En ingls hablado, la "D" sonara bien si no fuera por la falta de la
s al final del verbo want. Sin embargo, cuando estamos relatando lo que alguien ha dicho
es mejor emplear el pasado.
4.d "Quiere que contrate..." Como no tenemos subj untivo en ingls, en esta estructura (el
acusativo) expresamos la misma idea con el pronombre complemento seguido del infinitivo.
Solemos usar el verbo contract para contratar los servicios de una persona u organizacin,
por ejemplo un abogado o fontanero. Cuando contratamos a un empleado decimos ire.
'
5.a Podemos descartar la "B" y la "C" porque no se puede usar el artculo definido con los das
de la semana sin aadir ms informacin. O sea, es posible decir "the Friday after Easter"
o "the Friday before my holidays" pero no "the Friday" a secas. Las preposiciones fory on
estn bien, pero la palabra toen la "D", por supuesto, no tiene ningn sentido.
6.b "Cuntos sois?" Se traduce en ingls literalmente como "Cuntos de vosotros hay?"
Cuando contestamos a este tipo de pregunta decimos "hay x de nosotros / ellos". Por
ejemplo: "There will be 15 of them" (Sern 15).
7.c Dnde se pone el maldito apostrofe? La "A" es gramaticalmente correcta pero un poco
improbable puesto que dice que tu compaero de trabaj o tiene ms de una mesa de trabajo.
En cambio, la "B" impl ica que tienes varios compaeros que comparten una sola mesa de
trabajo. La "D" es la nica que es gramaticalmente incorrecta.
8.d Tambin se puede decir "on the border of bankruptcy" o "on the edge of bankruptcy" o
incluso "on the verge of bankruptcy". Ms ejemplos del uso de la palabra brink: "I was on
the brink of te/ling him" ("Estaba a punto de decrselo"); "The country is on the brink of
war" ("El pas est al borde de la guerra"); "He pulled the firm back from the brink" ("l
salv a la empresa del desastre").
55