Expressing opinions and preferences

Tabla de contenido

Introducción........................................................................................................... 1

Mapa conceptual ................................................................................................... 2

1. Describing people and places .......................................................................... 2

Modificadores adjetivales ..................................................................................... 2
Adjetivos predicativos .......................................................................................... 3
Adjetivo complemento .......................................................................................... 3
Adjetivos para describir personas ........................................................................ 4
Modismos para describir personas ...................................................................... 5

2. Opinions and preferences ................................................................................ 6

Useful expressions to express your opinion ......................................................... 6
Useful words to express your agreement ............................................................. 6
Useful words to express your disagreement ........................................................ 7

3. How to create a concept map ........................................................................... 7

4. What is a paragraph? ...................................................................................... 10

The three parts of a paragraph .......................................................................... 10
The first part of a paragraph ............................................................................... 10
The topic sentence in a paragraph ..................................................................... 11
The third part of a paragraph ............................................................................. 12
Writing paragraphs ............................................................................................. 13

Referencias .......................................................................................................... 14
 Introducción

En el mundo de los mercados, la competencia laboral es cada vez más fuerte y el

idioma inglés es el lenguaje universal de este sistema, por lo tanto, es de suma
importancia aprender esta lengua para quien desee estar al tanto de su progreso
profesional.

Muchas empresas encuentran límites a la hora de proyectar el mercado a otros

países de habla inglesa, pero una buena comunicación es la herramienta más
poderosa para impulsar el mercado a nivel internacional.

Por esta razón, este material de formación trata aspectos relacionados con la
proyección del mercado a través de la segmentación, en inglés, especialmente
partiendo de las características y las preferencias de la población a la cual va
dirigida.

Además de lo mencionado anteriormente, es importante saber escribir un buen

párrafo, para tener una buena escritura.

Los párrafos ayudan a que textos largos sean más fáciles de leer y comprender;
además ayudan a que el texto sea más organizado, enfocándose en un propósito
en especial. Sin embargo, aprender a escribir un párrafo es un poco complicado y
por eso las siguientes instrucciones serán de mucha ayuda para afianzar más las
habilidades en construcción de párrafos.

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Mapa conceptual

En el mapa conceptual que se comparte a continuación, se evidencia la

interrelación temática del contenido que se plantea en este material de formación.

1. Describing people and places

En toda oración se encuentran, tanto sustantivos como verbos, y casi todas las
demás palabras que la componen dan información sobre estos. Dichas palabras
se conocen como modificadores; existen los modificadores adjetivales y los
adverbiales, los primeros cambian los sustantivos y los segundos modifican los
verbos, sin embargo, solo se profundizará en este material de formación en los
modificadores adjetivales.

Modificadores adjetivales

Este tipo de modificador usualmente provee información sensorial a las frases

cuyo núcleo es el sustantivo o nombre, por ejemplo:

 Katty bought a red dress.

 The new book costs $0.50oo.

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 His boring speech put the crowd to sleep.

Estas palabras proveen información como: el vestido es rojo, el libro es nuevo y el

discurso es aburrido. Muchas palabras pueden funcionar como adjetivos.

Ejemplo: Katty bought an evening dress.

Evening es un sustantivo pero en esta oración funciona como adjetivo.

Adjetivos predicativos

Los adjetivos simples van antes del sustantivo que modifican, sin embargo, hay
dos tipos de adjetivo que no cumplen esta posición dentro de la oración.

Ejemplo: The tree was tall.

La palabra tall es un adjetivo y provee información a la palabra tree, pero se

encuentra ubicado después del verbo was. Dado que esta construcción tiene una
relación con el verbo y es un adjetivo, se le confiere el nombre de adjetivo
predicativo.

Los adjetivos predicativos solo pueden ir después de los verbos:

 Fritz felt tired.

 The pizza tasted good.
 Fred was angry.

Adjetivo complemento

Otro tipo de adjetivo es el adjetivo complemento:

Ejemplo: Louise painted the wall red.

Note que el adjetivo red complete el predicado, pero no va después del verbo.
Además, painted no es un verbo de enlace.

Modificadores adverbiales

Los modificadores adverbiales proveen información a verbos, adverbios y otras

frases y oraciones adverbiales. Ellos son versátiles, no son sensoriales pero

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proveen seis tipos diferentes de información: tiempo, lugar, manera, grado, causa
y concesión.

Los siguientes ejemplos muestran adverbios que proveen los seis tipos de
información anteriormente mencionados. Note que los adverbios de grado
modifican adjetivos, o pueden cambiar adverbios:

1. Tiempo: They arrived late.

2. Lugar: We stopped there for a rest.
3. Manera: Fred opened the box slowly.
4. Grado: Charles felt very tired. She opened the box quite rapidly.
5. Causa: We ate because we were hungry.
6. Concesión: Although she didn’t like broccoli, she ate it.

Cómo describir personas

La persona es…

 Edad: old, young, elderly, middle-aged, a teenager, twenty, twentish, about

twenty, in her early 30’s, in her mid 30’s, in his late 40’s.
 Estatura: tall, short, of medium build.
 Contextura: fat, thin, well-built, slim, of medium build.
 Apariencia: good-looking, pretty, beautiful (solo para mujeres), handsome (solo
para hombres), plain, ugly.

La persona tiene…

 Cabello: short, mid-length, long, straight, wavy, curly, red, brown, auburn, black,
fair, blond, grey and white.
 Ojos: blue, green, brown, grey.
 Características distintivas: a moustache, a beard, a big nose, glasses.

Adjetivos para describir personas

Habilidad intelectual:

Inteligente, en modo
Habilidad Falta de habilidad
negativo
Intelligent Stupid Cunning
Bright Foolish Crafty
Smart Simple Sly

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 Able Silly
Gifted Brainless (colloquial)
Clever Dumb (colloquial)
Shrewd Clueless (colloquial)
Talented
Brainy (colloquial)

Actitudes hacia la vida:

 Punto de vista: optimistic or pessimistic.

 Exterior o interior: extroverted or introverted.
 Calmado o no calmado: relaxed or tense, anxious.
 Práctico, no soñador: sensible, down to earth.
 Que siente intensamente: sensitive.

Actitudes hacia otras personas:

 Disfruta la compañía de otros: sociable, gregarious, congenial.

 En desacuerdo con otros: quarrelsome, argumentative.
 Relajado en actitud hacia sí mismo y hacia otros: easy-going, even-
tempered, affable.
 No educado con otros: impolite, rude, ill-mannered.
 Decir la verdad / guardar promesas: honest, trustworthy, reliable, sincere.
 No es feliz si no tiene lo que otros si: jealous, envious.

Modismos para describir personas

Cualidades positivas y negativas:

Positiva Negativa

She has a heart of gold (muy amable, He’s as hard as nails (Sin simpatía
generoso). por otros).

He’s as good as gold (generous, She’s kind of a cold fish (distante, no

helpful, well-behaved). amigable).

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 2. Opinions and preferences

A continuación, se encuentran algunas expresiones que serán útiles para dar

opiniones y expresar que está de acuerdo o en desacuerdo con algo.

Useful expressions to express your opinion

In my opinion, ... In my eyes, ...

To my mind, ... As far as I am concerned, Speaking
personally,…
From my point of view, ... As for me / As to me, ...
My view /opinion / belief / impression / conviction is that... I hold the view
that...
I would say that ... It seems to me that … I am of
the opinion that…
My impression is that ... I am under the impression that. It is my
impression that...
I have the feeling that ... My own feeling on the subject is that...
I have no doubt that ... I am sure / I am certain that...
I think / consider / find / feel / believe / suppose / presume / assume that...
I hold the opinion that... (I form / adopt an opinion.) I dare say
that...
I guess that... I bet that… I gather
that...
It goes without saying that...

Useful words to express your agreement

I agree with you / him ... I share your view. I think so.
I really think so.
(The author / the narrator / the protagonist / etc.) is right

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 He is quite right / absolutely right. He may be right.
I have no objection. I approve of it. I have
come to the same conclusion I hold the same opinion. We are of
one mind / of the same mind on that question.
I am at one with him on that point. It is true. That is
right.
That's just it! Fair enough! Quite so!
Just so! Yes of course!

Useful words to express your disagreement

I don't agree. I disagree.

I don't think so. You are / he is wrong.
I think otherwise. I don't think that's quite right.
I don't agree with you/him. I don't agree with what you say.
I am afraid that is not quite true. I take a different view.
I don't share his/her/your view. This argument does not hold water.
Not at all Nonsense.
Rubbish! He's off his head! (Baptiste, s.f.)

3. How to create a concept map

A continuación se describen algunas indicaciones para crear un mapa conceptual:

1. Identify the general/broad topic that you are interested in.

Example: You are interested in the general topic of obesity.

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2. Brainstorm on the general topic and list all the concepts and themes that
are related to the topic on a large piece of paper. Keep the concepts as
concise as possible.

Example:

Who? Kids Obese parents

How many? Adult female Unhealthy Diet
Reasons or causes Mothers Little physical
of Depression exercise
Effects of Genetic Soda pop
More fast food More TV viewing Dessert
Bigger portions Sedentary life style Too much sugar
Large fries Low work productivity Commuters
Diabetes Low self-esteem Few pedestrians
Technology Poor emotional How to prevent
dependent health Transportation
Stroke Physical fitness at system
Heart disease work Exercise programs
High-blood pressure Balanced diet Physical fitness in
Balanced diet Nutritious meals school
Little sugar Less fast food Physical exercise
Walk or pedal to work

3. Using unlined paper, write the main theme in the center of the page.

4. Take the other concepts identified in the brainstorming and connect them
to the center concept. You can use other organizational patterns such as
branches, arrows or groups. More important ideas should be put nearer
to the center and less important ones closer to the edge. Identify the

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 relationship between the concepts. (USU Libraries Reference Service
Department, s.f.)

Fuente: USU Libraries Reference Service Department (s.f.)

5. After the map has been created, look at the organizational patterns to
see if the pieces fit together and make sense and if there is anything
missing. After the map has been created, look at the organizational
patterns to see if the pieces fit together and make sense and if there is
anything missing. (USU Libraries Reference Service Department, s.f.)

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 4. What is a paragraph?

Un párrafo es un grupo de oraciones relacionadas que tratan por lo regular una

idea principal, este puede ser tan corto como una oración o tan largo como diez
oraciones, sin embargo, el párrafo debería ser lo suficientemente largo como para
desarrollar claramente la idea principal.

En la escritura académica a veces se redacta un párrafo para responder una

pregunta e incluso puede ser parte de una pieza más grande de escritura como un
ensayo o un libro.

The three parts of a paragraph

All paragraphs have…

 Topic sentence.
 Supporting sentence.
 Concluding sentence.

The first part of a paragraph

The topic sentence

What is the topic sentence?

The topic sentence is the first sentence in a paragraph.

What does it do?

It introduces the main idea of the paragraph.

How do I write one?

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Summarize the main idea of your paragraph. Indicate to the reader what
your paragraph will be about.

In short…

The topic sentence states the main idea of a paragraph. It does not only
name the topic of a paragraph, but it also limits the topic to one specific idea
that can be discussed completely in the space of a single paragraph. The
part of the topic sentence that announces the specific area to be discussed
is called the controlling idea.

Let´s see and example:

Topic

Gold, a precious metal, is prized for two important characteristics.

The topic sentence in a paragraph

The supporting sentences

What are supporting sentences?

They come after the topic sentence, making up the body of a paragraph.
What do they do?
They give details to develop and support the main idea of the paragraph.
How do I write them?
You should give supporting facts, details, and examples.

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In short…

The supporting sentences develop the topic sentence. That is, they explain
or prove the topic sentence by giving more information about it. The
following example shows how the topic is developed by using supporting
sentences.

Example:

There are three reasons why Canada is one of the best countries in the
world. First, Canada has an excellent health care system. All
Canadians have access to medical services at a reasonable price.
Second, Canada has a high standard of education. Students are taught
by well trained teachers and are encouraged to continue studying at
university. And third, Canada's cities are clean and efficiently
managed. Canadian cities have many parks and lots of space for
people to live. As a result, Canada is a desirable place to live.

The third part of a paragraph

The closing sentence

What is the closing sentence?

The closing sentence is the last sentence in a paragraph.

What does it do?

It restates the main idea of your paragraph.

How do I write one?

Restate the main idea of the paragraph using different words.

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In short…

The concluding sentence signals the end of the paragraph and leaves the
reader with important points to remember.

Example:

There are three reasons why Canada is one of the best countries in the
world. First, Canada has an excellent health care system. All Canadians
have access to medical services at a reasonable price. Second, Canada
has a high standard of education. Students are taught by well-trained
teachers and are encouraged to continue studying at university. And third,
Canada's cities are clean and efficiently managed. Canadian cities have
many parks and lots of space for people to live. As a result, Canada is a
desirable place to live.

Writing paragraphs

What is the writing stage?

The writing stage is when you turn your ideas into sentences.

Five writing steps:

1. Open your notebook and word processor.

2. Write the topic sentence, supporting sentences, and closing sentence.
3. Write clear and simple sentences to express your meaning.
4. Focus on the main idea of your paragraph.
5. Use the dictionary to help you find additional words to express your
ideas. (Oshima y Hogue, 2006)

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 Referencias

 Baptiste, Y. (s.f.). Useful expressions. Consultado el 02 de agosto de 2016, en

http://yvanbaptiste.pagesperso-orange.fr

 Oshima, A. y Hogue A. (2006). Writing academic English. Nueva York, Estados

Unidos: Pearson Education Inc.

 USU Libraries Reference Service Department. (s.f.). How to create a concept

map. Consultado el 02 de agosto de 2016, en https://library.usu.edu

Control del documento

Nombre Cargo Dependencia Fecha

Centro de Servicios
Experta Empresariales y Junio de
Autor Ismari Herrera Jerez
técnica Turísticos 2016
Regional Santander
Guionista -
Paola Andrea Centro Agroindustrial Julio de
Adaptación Línea de
Bobadilla Gutiérrez Regional Quindío 2016
producción

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