Alternative medicine

In this episode we’re going to help you understand and use vague language. What are you doing later this evening? – I’ve got to sort out some stuff at home. (What stuff?)

EVEN THOUGH = aunque, a pesar de que – “I decided to walk to the library even though it was raining.” / “Decidí caminar hasta la biblioteca aunque estaba lloviendo.”

EVEN SO = aun así – “I know you don’t like vegetables, darling. Even so, you must eat them.” / “Ya sé que no te gustan las verduras cariño. Pero aun así te las tienes que comer.”

Vague language – not distinct (vago/a)

Sometimes vague language is bad:
How much does this cost? – Around 15 quid, more or less.
Legal contracts and documents, for example, shouldn’t be vague.
When we speak though, we often use vague language.

What did you do yesterday morning?

I took the number 19 bus into the centre of Valencia and bought a pair of blue shoes and a beige pair of shorts in El Corte Inglés. Then I met Michelle for coffee in Starbucks at 12.30. (too much boring detail!)

I went into town to get a few things and then I met a friend for coffee. (more natural)

      

AFTER – I made coffee after Reza arrived. / After Reza arrived, I made coffee.
I’ll have a shower after you.
What are you doing after we finish recording?

More uses of after:
Expressions
day after day – día tras día. What are the same mistakes you keep correcting in your classes day after day.
one after the other – uno tras otro. I can’t stop eating chocolates. Once I start, I eat them one after the other.
one excuse after another – excusas y más excusas. When I ask my students for hand in their writing homework I get a load odd excuses, one after the other.
after you! – ¡pase usted!, ¡usted primero!

Behind
close the door after you – cierra la puerta al salir o cuando salgas
I’m tired of cleaning up after you – estoy cansado de ir detrás de ti limpiándolo todo

Does marketing have good or bad connotations?

Marketing is activities of a company associated with buying and selling a product or service.
People who work in marketing try to get the attention of target audiences by using slogans, packaging design, celebrity endorsements and general media exposure.

Marketing is everything a company does to acquire customers and maintain a relationship with them. Is this necessarily a bad thing?

Even the small tasks like writing thank-you letters, returning phone calls and emails promptly and meeting with a past client for coffee can be thought of as marketing.

The ultimate goal of marketing is to match a company’s products and services to the people who need and want them, thereby ensuring profitability.

Vocabulary

brand / make / label
consumer
distribution – delivering the product to the customer
end-user – the person, customer who is the ultimate (and so real) user of a product
launch – lanzar
E-commerce – buying and selling of products or services over the Internet.
E-marketing – promotion of products and services over the Internet
market research
market niche – Small but profitable segment (segmento) of a market in which a company is a specialist
market share
inbound marketing – marketing activities that draw visitors in, rather than marketers having to go out to get prospects’ attention.

      

Vocabulary

Ghost, ghastly, phantom – fantasma
To haunt – encantar – a haunted house
Spooky – espeluznante
Words for the devil – el diablo: lucifer, the beast, Satan, 666, beelzebub, The Prince of Darkness
Evil – mal, vil
Curse – una maldición
Demons and angels
To terrify – aterrorizar a , terrifying – espantoso/a “I was terrified” / “It was a terrifying experience”
To scare – asustar, aterrorizar – scary
Fear (noun) – miedo, to fear – temer
To be afraid (adj.) – tener miedo
Fright (noun) – susto – I caught/had a fright
Frighten (verb) – asustar a
Frightening (adj.)
Frightful (adj.) a frightful shock