Agreement y disagreement, so do I y neither do I

En inglés, como en cualquier otra lengua, es esencial utilizar “yo también”, “yo tampoco”, “yo
sí” y “yo no” cuando nos estamos comunicando. Si os comunicáis en inglés en el día a día, lo
necesitareis, y si os vais a presentar a un examen de inglés, os puedo venir muy bien, ya que
esto demuestra un control comunicativo de la lengua bastante alto. Ahí va la explicación:

Para expresar agreement y disagreement, en inglés se utilizan los auxiliares (“do” para present
simple, “did” para past simple, “to be” en cualquiera de sus tiempos, “have” para presente
perfecto, “will” para futuro, “would” para condicional, etc). Veamos unos ejemplos:

A. I like pizza B. So do I (agreement = a mí también)

A. I don’t like pizza B. Neither do I (disagreement = a mí tampoco)

Como ves, la primera oración está en presente simple, y positiva, por tanto, para mostrar
acuerdo, escribimos SO + Auxiliar de presente simple en positivo (porque estamos con
agreement) + el sujeto.

La segunda oración está también en presente simple y negativa, por tanto, para mostrar
desacuerdo, escribimos NEITHER + do + subjeto. Detrás de NEITHER siempre irá el auxiliar en
positivo, puesto que neither ya es una palabra negativa y no sé puede duplicar una negación
en la misma oración.

Vamos a hacer lo mismo con una oración en pasado.

A. I went to the beach last week B. So did I

A. I didn’t go to the beach last week B. Neither did I

A continuación os dejo unas oraciones para poder practicar esta gramática.

1. I’m a student: So am I or I’m not

2. I’m not French: Neither am I or I am

3. I went on holiday last year: So did I or I didn’t

4. I’ll wake up early tomorrow: So will I or I won’t

5. I’ve studied German: So have I or I haven’t

6. I won’t go to work on Saturday: Neither will I or I will

7. I didn’t go to the supermarket: Neither did I or I did

8. I haven’t been to Madrid: Neither have I or I have

9. I don’t speak Arabic: Neither do I or I do

10. I have been to Australia: So have I or I haven’t

11. I live in a flat: So do I or I don’t

12. I’m going to work tomorrow: So am I or I’m not

13. I didn’t visit my grandparents: Neither did I or I did

14. I’m not watching TV: Neither am I or I am

15. I’ll call her tomorrow: So will I or I won’t

16. I haven’t found a job yet: Neither have I or I have

17. I’ve seen that film: So have I or I haven’t

18. I won’t read that book: Neither will I or I will

19. I like pizza: So do I or I don’t

20. I got up early this morning: So did I or I didn’t

Vamos a coger la oración número 20, por ejemplo, para analizarla:

20. I got up early this morning.

Si decimos “So I did”, estamos diciendo “yo también”. Si por el contrario, “I didn’t”, estoy
diciendo “yo no”, es decir, estoy diciendo lo contrario al hablante (A. Me levanté temprano B.
Yo no). Esto en inglés se sigue haciendo con el auxiliar: SUBJETO + AUXILIAR (NEGATIVO EN
ESTE CASO, PORQUE QUIERES DECIR QUE TÚ NO, Y CONTRARIO AL OTRO HABLANTE).

Cómo estructurar un monólogo

Si estás preparando un monólogo para un examen oral oficial, por ejemplo, en la Escuela
Oficial de Idiomas, o en cualquier otra institución, ésta explicación te puede venir bien. No se
trata de hablar simplemente, sino de estructurar tu intervención correctamente, utilizando
una serie de phrases que den cohesión y calidad a tu monólogo.

Os voy a poner aquí una guía que pueden utilizar tanto alumnos de B1 como de B2.

1) DIVIDIR TU MONÓLOGO

 I’ve divided my presentation/speech/monologue/ into three/four main parts.

 In my presentation/speech/monologue I’ll focus on three/four major issues.

2) TO GRAB THE ATTENTION OF THE AUDIENCE, YOU MAY EMPLOY

 Rhetorical questions

Example: Are children and teenagers watching too much TV these days?

Remember that when you ask a rhetorical question you don’t have to answer it, it’s just used
to make the audience think and make your topic more interesting.
  Interesting facts

Examples: according to an article I read recently, … / Did you know that…? / I would like to
share an amazing fact/figure with you.

 Stories

Examples: Let me tell you what happened to me…/ Suppose…/ Imagine…/ Say… (=imagine)

 Problems to think about

Examples: Suppose you wanted to…/ Imagine you had to… / What would be your first step?

 Quotations (citas, cosas que alguien conocido/ famoso ha dicho)7

Examples: as … once said, …/ To quote a well-known writer, … / To put it in the words of…

3) INTRODUCING A POINT

 First of all, I would like to point out…

 The main problem is…

 The question of…

 Speaking of…

4) ENUMERATION OF POINTS (if you provide several reasons, factors or arguments in a row)

 First of all, I would like to say…

 In addition to that…

 Moreover, …

 Furthermore, …

 Another example of this is…

 First, second, third…

 Finally, …

5) MOVING TO THE NEXT POINT

 This leads directly to my next point.

 This brings us to the next question.

 Let’s now move on to…

 After examining this point, let’s turn to…

 Let’s now take a look at…

6) GOING BACK (para mencionar algo que se ha dicho anteriormente)

 As I said/ mentioned earlier…

 Let me come back to what I said before…

 Let’s go back to what we were discussing earlier.

 As I’ve already explained, …

 As I pointed out in the first section, …

7) STATING SOMETHING AS A FACT

 As everyone knows…

 It is generally accepted that…

 There can be no doubt that…

 It is a fact that…

 Nobody will deny that…

 Everyone knows that…

8) GIVING YOUR OPINION NEUTRALLY

 I think…

 I feel that…

 In my opinion, …

 As far as I’m concerned…

 As I see it…

 In my view…

 I tend to think that…

 From my point of view…

9) GIVING A STRONG OPINION

 I’m absolutely convinced that…

 I’m sure that…

 I strongly believe that…

 I have no doubt that…

  There is no doubt that…

 I am absolutely certain that…

10) EXPRESSING UNCERTAINTY

 I definitely doubt if that…

 I am not sure that…

 I am not certain that…

 As far as I know…

11) GIVING REASONS

 The reasons for this is (that)…

 I base my argument on…

 I tell you all this because…

12) REPHRASING OPINIONS (para volver a explicar algo, si pensamos que no ha quedado claro)

 What I mean to say was… (lo que he querido decir es…)

 Let me put this another way (voy a decirlo de otra forma)

 Perhaps I’m not making myself clear…

 The basic idea is…

 One way of looking at it is…

 Another way of looking at it is…

 What I want to say is…

13) INDICATING THE END OF YOUR TALK

 I’m now approaching the end of my presentation.

 Well, this brings me to the end of my presentation.

 As a final point, I would like to say…

 Finally, I would like to highlight one key issue.

14) DRAWING CONCLUSIONS AND SUMMING UP

 The obvious conclusion is…

 Last but not least…

  The only possible solution/conclusion is…

 In conclusion we can say that…

 To cut a long story short, …

 Just to give you the main points again, … (en resumen, resumiendo)

Exámenes orales inglés

Exámenes orales inglés, ¿tienes alguno? Seguramente muchos de vosotr@s os vais a

presentar a algún examen oral de inglés, bien en clases particulares, en alguna academia de
idiomas, en la Escuela Oficial de Idiomas, o en cualquier otra institución. Bien, os voy a poner
en esta entrada temas (monólogos) con los que podéis practicar vuestro speaking y os indicaré
vocabulario relacionado que deberíais emplear ante estos exámenes orales.

 Los temas son de nivel B1.

- Television and mass media

 Programmes: reality shows, gossip programes, documentaries, soap operas,

cartoons, the news, weather forecast, sports programmes, music programmes, talk
shows, dramas, sitcoms, series, serials, etc.)

 Advertising. Impact on people and children

 Newspapers (tabloid vs broadsheets, magazines, daily newspapers, etc.) Online

newspapers

 Children and television. Violence and impact on children

 Positive aspects vs negative aspects

 Educational programmes on TV

- Holidays

 Different kinds of holidays: package holiday, camping, guided tours, cruises

 Favourite means of tranport for holidays: own car, plane, train, etc.

 People to go with: alone, family, friends, partner, etc.

 Your last holiday

 Your future holiday

 Rural tourism (relaxing, nature, sports) vs urban tourism (sightseeing, monuments,

museums)

- Education
  Private education vs state education

 Past education vs today’s education

 Your school days: favourite subjets, teachers, school, uniform, etc.

 Technology in class: positive and negative aspects?

 Lack of money for grants?

- Sports

 Sports you do and how often?

 Children and sports. Sedentary life? Present and past, difference?

 Your opinion on risky sports

 Footballers: do they earn too much money?

 The Olympic Games

- Jobs

 Describe your job. How long have you been doing it? What do you like about it?

 Your ideal job.

 Retirement age: the ideal age?

 Dangerous jobs.

 Your opinion on civil servants in Spain.

- Technology

 How has technology changed the world?

 Past and present: comparison

 I couldn’t live without my mobile. Do you agree with this statement?

 E-books. Do you have one? Why (not)?

 Technology in education. Positive and negative aspects?

 Do children have too many gadgets?

- Money

 Social difference: rich and poor people?

 The economic crisis. How is it affecting society?

  What do you spend your money on?

 Todays’ salaries. Is it possible to save money?

 Charities. Do you give money to them? Why (not)?

 Shopping. Do you like it? Where do you like shopping?

 Money corrupts people. Do you agree?

- Music and books

 Music you like and your favourite singer/ band

 Your opinion on going to concerts

 Do you like reading? What do you normally read?

 Is reading good for children? Why (not)?

 The best book you’ve ever read

 A book you would never recommend

 Books made into films. Which do you prefer, the book or the film?

- Eating habits

 You are what you eat. Do you agree with this statement?

 Your favourite food.

 Do you like fast food? How often do you have it?

 Eating out, do you like it?

 Children and obesity.

 Organic food, too expensive?

- The environment

 What do you do to help the environment?

 Recycling. Do you recycle? What and how?

 Temperatures are rising more and more. What’s the cause?

 What can you do at home to save energy? -

Topics para monólogos de exámenes

Lista con distintos topics que pueden salir en exámenes orales de inglés por ejemplo de la
Escuela Oficial de Idiomas.

1. Technologies

2. Computers and the Internet

3. Consumerism (online shopping, men v. women, the crisis, shopping habits, television
commercials, shopping addiction, etc)

4. Crimes, law, politicians, corruption, public safety.

5. Inventions (past, present and predictions for the future, cloning, playing with DNA,
Robotics, etc)

6. Medicine (traditional v. alternative, NHS = National Health System, lifestyle and health,
etc)

7. Modern nature (cloning human beings, technological advances, genetic engineering,

etc)

8. Communication and relationships (networks, online dating, etc).

9. Education

10. Money (the crisis, politicians, banks, goverments, economic situation, 40-year
mortgages,celebrities, sportspeople, etc)

11. Environment/ climate change/ global warming (carbon footprint – make sure you
know what it is)

12. Job market (men v. women, unemployment, civil servants, etc )

13. Travelling/ living abroad

14. Food and healthy lifestyle (eating disorders, stress, eating habits, etc.)

15. The media (the news, newspapers, the radio, TV and children, reality shows,
advertising, etc)

16. Charity (animal rigths, famous people, governments, ways of raising money, etc.)

17. Appearance (cosmetic surgery, beautiful models and perfect bodies, television, etc.)

18. Work (parents and child raising, civil servants, men v. women, unskilled workers,
immigrants, etc)

19. Family and relationships (present and past, changes, the elderly, marriage, etc)

20. Success (young age, celebrities, success and private life, work, stress, corruption, etc)
Temas para hablar en inglés

Temas para hablar en inglés, ¿necesitas? Here you have some topics which could be useful for
you to practise your oral skills. They are quite advanced topics intended to make students give
their opinions and arguments on some current topics which affect society on their everyday
life.

Remember, if you really want to improve your English, you must practise as much as you can,
even on your own, just to get fluency, as the saying goes “practice makes perfect”

1. To what extent is the use of animals in scientific research acceptable?

2. Zoos are sometimes seen as necessary but not poor alternatives to a natural
environment. Discuss some of the arguments for and/or against keeping animals in
zoos.

3. Education is the single most important factor in the development of a country. Do you
agree?

4. Children should never be educated at home by their parents. Do you agree or

disagree?

5. In Britain, when someone gets old, they often go to live in a home with other old
people where there are nurses to look after them. Sometimes the government has to
pay for this care. Who should be responsible for our old people? Give reasons.

6. In some countries the average worker is obliged to retire at the age of 50, while in
others people can work until they are 65 or 70. Until what age do you think people
should be encouraged to remain in paid employment? Give reasons for your answer.

7. To what extent has the traditional male role changed in the last 20 years?

8. TV: could you be without it? Discuss.

9. Tourism is becoming increasingly important as a source of revenue to many countries

but its disadvantages should not be overlooked. What are some of the problems of
tourism?

10. Should children be taught sex education in schools?

11. Most high level jobs are done by men. Should the government encourage a certain
percentage of these jobs to be reserved for women?

12. Are famous people treated unfairly by the media? Should they be given more privacy,
or is the price of their fame an invasion into their private lives?
13. Will modern technology, such as the internet ever replace the book or the written
word as the main source of information?

14. Should criminals be punished with lengthy jail terms or re-educated and rehabituated,
using community service programs for instance, before being reintroduced to society?

15. Recycling Is Necessary. Do you agree or disagree?