Though (apesar) e although (embora, ainda que) são conjunções, ou seja, são palavras invariáveis que servem para conectar orações. Dessa forma elas podem ser substituídas uma pela outra dentro de uma frase. Entretanto, although é mais encontrada no início da sentença, enquanto que though é usada em outros pontos. Algumas pessoas utilizam o although quando querem ser mais formais, já o though tem mais a função de ligar palavras ou frases.

Exemplos:

- He still argues, though he knows he’s wrong.
- Although it rained, we had a great time.

Ouça os exemplos

Audio by: Christopher O’Donnell

Hi guys! Today, we’ll be talking about the movie “Fun with Dick and Jane”. This is a 2005 comedy film starring Jim Carrey, and remake of the 1977 film of the same name. By the way, great movie for the whole family!

When Dick finds himself unemployed, he starts a competition with his ex-workmate to be the first to arrive at a job interview. But, when both arrive, they found a very large line of people waiting to be interviewed. Disappointed, they decide to go for a cup of coffee. But right when they’re about to leave, someone recognizes Dick and tells him he doesn’t need to wait in line. With an I-won look, Dick turns to his friend and says “Rain check?”.

A rain check is a ticket given for later use when a sports event or other outdoor event is interrupted or postponed by rain. It’s also a coupon (or some kind of agreement) issued to a customer by a store, guaranteeing that a sale item that is out of stock may be purchased by that customer at a later date at the same reduced price. The expression has migrated from its original context and it is most often used casually, either when declining politely an invitation with the implication that one may accept it at a later date or to suggest continuing at a later time an activity which has been interrupted.

Another example: On the forth episode of the fifth season (The One Where Phoebe Hates PBS), Ross forgets he had told Rachel they were going to go to the movies because he is sad and upset trying to fix his marriage with Emily. When Rachel arrives, he says that he’s going to have to “take a rain check“.

I hope you learned something. Have a great day!

Karin from Guatemala

Hello everybody! How’s everything? I hope you’re all doing well. Well, Alessandro wrote a post about business meetings in English so I thought I’d give him a hand and write some more about it, in a series of five articles. So let’s get down to business! First of all, I’ll give you guys a small dialogue in formal English, then the most important expressions and their definitions ok? I’ve gathered some examples from several sources and materials so if you read something which looks familiar, it is NOT a coincidence! The topic today is “Starting a Meeting”.

On behalf of this company, I’d like to call this meeting to order. This is a meeting of some of the key players in our company: our top managers. Our purpose this morning is to hear a presentation about a new initiative for outreach and marketing, and to discuss this plan with all of you.

This is a presentation that all of us have looked forward to. This initiative marks a new milestone in the evolution of our company. First, it serves as an assessment of where our company is now in terms of communicating its message to its customers domestically and abroad. Furthermore, this plan has the potential to drive our company forward by transforming our corporate outreach and marketing strategies.

We are delighted that all of the major contributors to this initiative are here today. They will use their unique perspectives to talk about the current state of affairs in terms of outreach and marketing, give details about the new proposed initiative, and outline the path for implementation.

On behalf of – speaking in the name of

Call a meeting to order – start a meeting officially

Key players – most important team members

Outreach – communication with people outside an organization

Milestone – a small accomplishment or achievement that is part of a larger project or goal

Assessment – evaluation

In terms of – regarding; with reference to

Domestically – in your own country or city

Furthermore – in addition to, besides

Drive something forward – help something progress and become better

Major – important

Current state of affairs – the way things are today; the status of something at the moment

Outline – describe the main points of an idea or plan

Well, very soon we’ll have more business expressions! And teachers who always log on to English Experts, if you teach business English and know more expressions for starting a formal meeting in English, write us! Take care!

Prof. Adir - www.adirferreira.com

Eu sou leitor do blog Mundo Gump. Para quem não conhece, o Mundo Gump é mantido por Philipe Kling David, ele é designer formado em Psicologia e trabalha com computação gráfica, ilustração e efeitos especiais.

Tal qual Forrest Gump, ele se dispõe a contar com detalhes algumas situações estranhas e inusitadas que aconteceram em sua vida ao longo dos anos (e ainda acontecem). E tal qual no filme, muitas pessoas duvidam do que lêem e escutam.

Depois do redesign do blog, o Philipe resolveu entrar no mundo dos podcasts. Tudo bem que o primeiro episódio só saiu por conta de um problema na conexão da Internet do cara, isso fez com que ele tivesse tempo livre para contar mais uma história, só que agora em áudio.

Por conta de uma combinação de fatores – talvez um alinhamento de planetas ou o surgimento de um político honesto – a história escolhida para o “testecast” tem muito a ver com o tema do English Experts.

Ele conta a história de uma viagem que sua família fez aos Estados Unidos onde a única coisa que estava planejada de verdade era o aluguel de um carro. Durante a viagem acontecem coisas que até Deus duvida. Eles foram confundidos com terroristas, tiveram problema com os fuzileiros do exército e por aí vai. Ficou curioso? Acesse o link abaixo e ouça, em Português:

Link: Mundo Gump

Ficção? Realidade? You decide!

In portuguese, it is ok to say “Não como nada.” But you cannot say “I don’t eat nothing” in English.

Here is a jingle (poem) we use to teach children not to use double negatives.

Don’t ever use NOT and NEVER together.

Don’t say, “We don’t never have fun” because you’ll be using two negatives and you need to be using just one.

You will always be in trouble in your negatives are double!

From Up, Up and Away: a Book About Adverbs by Ruth Heller.

See you!
Mary Ziller from USA