How Not to Repeat Yourself in English

Saying ‘Can you repeat that, please?’

Alternatives:
Sorry?
Sorry, I didn’t get/catch that.
Sorry, what was that (you said)?
I’m afraid I don’t follow (you) (formal)
Come again? (informal)

Saying ‘hello’ and ‘How are you?’

Alternatives:
Alright?
What’s up?
How’s it going?
How are you doing?
How are things?
’bout you! (Belfast greeting – ‘How about you?)
Ey up! (Greeting in the North of England)
Whatcha! (What you)

      

Phrasal Verbs with TAKE and GET

TAKE

Take off (clothes) Doctor: “Take your shirt off, please.” “Please take off your shoes before you go inside.”
(despegar) “What time does your plane take off?”
Take off (a person, to impersonate) “Can you take off Donald Trump?”
(when a business or career is successful) “Our podcast has really taken off this year.”
(to leave) “What time are you taking off today?”, (take time off) “I’m taking a couple of days off work.”

Take up (accept an offer) “Not many students wanted to take up the offer of free classes at 7 o’clock in the morning.”
(occupy) “Craig’s Mickey Mouse memorabilia takes up a lot of space in his bedroom.“ “Podcasting takes up a lot of time.”
(start doing) Take up a hobby.

Take on (employ new people): “Our company’s expanding and we’re going to take on more employees.” / (engañar) “You were taken on with that car.
It’s not worth 4,000 euros.” / (challenge/fight/compete against) “Although Goliath was a giant, David took him on and won.” “Who are valencia taking on next week?”

Take over a business (take control). Also a noun “There’s been a take over.” “When my sister comes to visit she always takes over.”
“Who will take over from the current President in the next elections?”

Take out (sacar, to remove from a place) “Craig suspiciously took out a huge bar of dark chocolate from his briefcase.”
(salir con alguien) “I’m taking out a girl from work on Friday. I’m taking her out for dinner.”

Take down (to write on paper, to dismantle/remove) “Take this down.” = “Write this on paper” / “We’re taking down the light in our dining room.”

Take back (to return) “This camera is too complicated for me. I’m taking it back to the shop for a refund.”
(admit saying something wrong) “I wrongly accused Jack of cheating. I’m sorry and I take it back.”

Take after (resemble, parecerse a) “Mary has a big nose, just like her mother. Mary takes after her mother.” “I take after my dad.”

Take in (comprehend, understand) “Susan was very attentive to my story. She took in every detail.” “I listened to his presentation, but I couldn’t take anything in.”
(make clothes smaller) “I need to take this jacket in. It’s too baggy.”

Take up (make shorter) “If your trousers are too long, you take them up.”

Alternative medicine

Wikipedia: “Alternative medicine is any practice that is put forward as (presented as) having the healing effects of medicine,
but does not originate from evidence gathered using the scientific method. Nor is it part of biomedicine, nor contradicted by scientific evidence or established science.”

Examples include new and traditional medicine practices such as homeopathy, naturopathy, chiropractic, energy medicine, various forms of acupuncture, acupressure, traditional Chinese medicine, cupping, Ayurvedic medicine, Sekkotsu, Reiki, Bach flowers remedies, aromatherapy, Alexander technique, crystal healing, Shiatsu, reflexology, chromotherapy/colour therapy and Christian faith healing.

We don’t have time to speak about ALL the difference types, but we’re going to look at four kinds of alternative medicine and see if we believe that they actually work.

We’ll look at HOMEOPATHY, ACUPUNCTURE, AROMATHERAPY and The ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE

Vocabulary

To treat (treatment), to treat someone FOR something “I’m being treated for high uric acid.”
Placebo = a fake treatment with no physical/scientific basis for success, often used in clinical trials
(Do/carry out/conduct) research
Scientific studies
Pseudoscience – a claim, belief, or practice presented as scientific, but which does not follow scientific method.
A charlatan = someone who pretends (fingir) to know something that s/he really doesn’t
“Mind over matter” = believing that your thoughts can in themselves produce physical effects
To cash in (on something) = to make money from a popular trend or fad
eg. “The shopkeeper is cashing in on the popularity of crystal healing by starting to sell expensive healing crystals in his shop.”
A practitioner = a person who practices (alternative/conventional) medicine
Conventional medicine = not alternative medicine (eg. radiation chemotherapy)
New Age = the modern equivalent of the hippie/flower power movement

      

9 Spanish Words We Need in English spanish-words-we-need-in-english

1.GUIRI – a foreigner, usually a tourist, who happens to be in Spain and stands out as being pretty obviously not a local. (GRINGO in Central/South America)

Do you wear sandals and socks? Walk on the sunny side of the street in August?
“Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun!”

2. ESTRENAR – to wear or use something for the first time.

Wear for the first time
Make a debut in a job or in a new post or position
(Films in the cinema) Premiere, release a film, to perform for the first time.

3. ESPABILAR – To liven up, to hurry up, to get one’s act together, to wake up, to get a move on, move yourself!
¡Espabila o el banco estará cerrado! – Get your arse in gear or the bank will be closed!