Modal Auxiliaries: Should, Would & Could

Should:  deveria

Would:   compraria/ iria/ faria

Could:    poderia

Should have: Deveria ter + Participle

Would have:  Teria + Participle

Could have:   Poderia ter + Participle

1.      We should always “do for others what we would like them to do for us”, but it’s kind of difficult, isn’t it?

2.      I should be watching more TV in Portuguese, listening to more Brazilian music and reading Portuguese books. Despite my excuses, I really should make the effort because it’s pretty important for me.

3.      In theory, the people that we elect to government should be honest, transparent and trustworthy, but in practice it doesn’t always work out that way. Do you think all people are corruptible?

4.      I shouldn’t have eaten that burger and those French fries today. I’m still feeling a little sluggish.

5.      I would love to live in a mosquito-free area. Mosquitoes are such a pain in the butt!

6.      I would be really happy with two more children. “The more the merrier.” For me, 3 is the perfect number.

Mood

The mood of a person is the state of mind they are in at any given time. It might depend on their emotions or feelings. The mood of a place or thing is the atmosphere or feeling that it expresses.

1. If we say that someone is not a morning person, it could mean that they are generally in a bad mood in the morning. Do you know someone (or are you someone) who is often in a bad mood when they wake up?

2. When you are in a bad mood, how long does it last for? Are you able to change your "frame of mind" easily or does it usually affect your whole day?

3. Do you think "Seu Lunga" is always sarcastic because he's in a bad mood... or do you think he is sarcastic no matter what mood he's in?

4. When someone is unusually or unexpectedly happy, you could say to them, "Wow, you're in a good mood today!" Are people pleasantly surprised when you are in a good mood?

5. What situations or circumstances put you into a bad mood? When someone insults you? When it's a rainy day? When you're hungry or tired?

6. If someone is very temperamental and their emotions go up and down, you could say that person is "moody". Do you "wear your heart on your sleeve"? In other words do you let your emotions show easily?

Stand up to/ Stand up for

If you “stand up to” someone, you are defending yourself. If you “stand up for” something you are claiming your right or demanding fair treatment. To “stand up against” is to confront someone in defense of.

1.      Do you remember who sang the following song:

              “Get up, stand up, stand up for your rights…

              get up, stand up, don’t give up the fight.” ?

              http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiPwCMlghhQ

2.      It’s good to stand up for your rights, but we all need to “pick our fights”. It’s just not beneficial standing up for some rights we think we have, because sometimes they are really insignificant or unimportant and it’s not worth the conflict. Have you ever stood up for your rights by getting involved in a demonstration or protest?

3.      Sometimes it is good to stand up to a “bully”… and sometimes there are disastrous consequences, especially in the case of a smaller or weaker country standing up to a bigger country. Some people portray the USA as a bully. Do you think this is really the case?

4.       Mahatma Gandhi was a fascinating character. The way in which he stood up against discrimination in South Africa and in India using passive resistance and non-violence, makes him stand out as one of the most important examples of resolving conflict peacefully.

Out + Verb

If you outrun someone, you run faster than them. If you outplay your opponent, you play better than them. If you outfish someone, you catch more/ bigger  fish. 

1.      By far, my favorite TV series is a reality show called “Survivor”.  About 20 contestants are castaway on an island or isolated somewhere in the wilderness. The contestants are split into tribes and have to survive the elements, construct shelter, build fire, look for water, and scrounge for food and other necessities for the entire filming period which is around 39 days. The show uses a system of progressive elimination, allowing the contestants to vote off other tribe members until only one final contestant remains and wins the title of “Sole Survivor” and a million dollar cash prize. The slogan for the series is: “Outwit, Outplay, Outlast.” To become the Sole Survivor, one contestant has to be smarter, play better and last longer than everyone else.

2.      Children grow so quickly that they outgrow their clothes on a regular basis. Also you can outgrow something as you get older and more mature or get more experience. Have you outgrown your job?

3.      When it comes to speech recognition technology, Google is outperforming Apple’s assistant, “Siri”. On the other hand, however, it doesn’t actually do anything except search.  Google can tell you the height of the Golden Gate Bridge faster than Siri, but it can’t set appointments, take dictation, or make a phone call.

4.      When you do a phenomenal job with something or made more effort than usual, people can say that you have outdone yourself. London really outdid itself with the last Olympics. It was really first class!

Whenever...

Whatever - Any thing (This could also be every thing)

Whenever - Any time (This could also be 'every time')

Wherever - Any 'where' (Anywhere or everywhere).

Whoever - Anyone (Any person or every person, or sometimes used to refer to a person unknown to the speaker)

Whichever - Any 'which' (Choice between a group or set).

However - Any 'way' (In any manner or way, regardless of how).

Basically each one means: "It does not matter what / when / where etc." OR "An unknown thing / time / place etc."

1. The genie said something like this to Aladin: "I'll give you three wishes… You can wish for whatever (anything) you want and I will give it to you." I know it's one of those cliché questions, but if you could have whatever (anything) you wanted, what three things would you wish for?

2. Whatever you do, just don't touch that red button over there! (This means that you can do anything you want with the exception of touching the red button.) This is often used in giving advice.

3. Wouldn't it be fantastic if we could just take a nap whenever we get tired, no matter where we are?

4. Whenever I get less than six hours of sleep I literally walk around like a zombie the whole day. 

5. "There's no place like home" is an expression which means that wherever you go in the world, you will never find a place quite like your hometown, home city or home country. It will always be a part of you. Do you think you could immigrate and live in another country for the rest of your life?

Live it up

When you live it up, you have fun and enjoy your life through certain activities or splashing out (spending a lot of money). It involves doing more pleasurable things than usual. It may or may not involve wastefulness and decadence. 

1. When you go on a honeymoon or celebrate your birthday, those are special moments where you would want to live it up. You may splash out and treat yourself to activities and things that are normally not within your budget. When do you like to live it up?

2. There is an expression, "Work hard, play hard." Many people face their responsibilities during the week, and then on weekends "play hard". They live it up. That might involve adventure or extreme sport activities, traveling or especially partying.

3. If you somehow came into possession of an incredibly large sum of money, would you start living it up...  or would you try to be a sensible as possible with the windfall and invest it, keep it as a nest egg or save it for a rainy day?

4. It is an unfortunate reality that most leaders and rulers use the population's money to live it up. I'm sure everyone could give detailed examples of how corrupt politicians have lived it up on taxpayers' money, throwing lavish parties and siphoning off money for their own personal use. 

5. Brazilians will get the chance to really live it up this year during the World Cup soccer. Since not much attention has been given to the transportation infrastructure within cities, to alleviate the traffic on the roads, whenever a match is held in a specific city, that city will have a public holiday on match days. This year, we'll get to live it up as we have more public holidays than usual!

Look down on (someone)

If you look down on someone, you arrogantly think that you are better than or superior to them. 

1. Do you think some nations are looked down upon more because of the state of their economy or because of their customs and culture? Do you feel that your country is looked down upon? 

2. Do you look down upon any group of people in your country, perhaps from another city, state or country? Do you feel that you personally are looked down upon in your own country? I have heard that the Gypsies of Europe and elsewhere are often looked down on… Do you know why that is?

3. Do you know of any countries where women are still treated like second-class citizens… where men look down on them?

4. Are there any professions in particular that people tend to look down on? Do you work in a respected or "dignified" profession or job? Recently, the garbage disposal men in Rio de Janeiro went on strike in an attempt to raise their salaries. They stuck to their guns, and in the end got what they wanted. Also, after a period of time where garbage piled up (accumulated) in the streets, people realized how important their work was to society and were happy at their success, cheering them on. 

5. Is it true in general that European countries tend to look down on their former colonies? The Europeans, after all, populated half the world, taking their languages and cultures with them. Do you think there is a richer culture in Europe as opposed to Western countries/ the Americas?

6. Do you think iPhone users look down on Samsung Galaxy users... or MacBook users on Windows users because they may have superior (or more expensive) devices or operating systems?

Make the best/ most of something

When someone makes the best/most of any situation, they take a less than satisfactory circumstance and try to make it positive, productive, worthwhile, beneficial, fun etc.

1. History has proven that often it is not worthwhile for some countries to host the soccer World Cup. In a couple of months, Brazil will host this "prestigious" event. It is the general consensus that Brazil has overstepped its budget, and in the bigger picture, will not benefit from the event as people had hoped. Of course, it would be unthinkable for Brazil to cancel the event - so what we have to do is make the best of it and salvage what we can. It is still a fantastic opportunity for Brazil to showcase itself to the world, and host the nations like no other country can.

2. When there's nothing you can do to reverse or change a mishap, an accident or any unfortunate event, we often say "It's no use crying over spilled milk." If you can think of any decision you've made that has not turned out the way you expected and that can't be undone, you have to move forward and make the best of it (perhaps by learning from your mistakes). 

3. Are you making the best of your life? I'm sure that life is not exactly the way you want it to be just yet, but are you making the most of what life has given you? Here is a fitting expression: "If life hands you a lemon, make a lemonade."

4. When someone is dealt a bad hand (given a bad set of cards) in a poker game, they can still make the best of the game and bluff their way through it... and end up winning. Do you think you have been "dealt a bad hand in life”? Is there anything you can do about it?

5. The other day I arrived at the bank 30 minutes before opening time. I really felt like leaving and coming back later, but I decided to stay and make the best of it while preparing some English class material on my cell phone in Evernote. Those 30 minutes flew by very quickly. Also, I was one of the first people to be served!

6. How could you make the best of a rainy day? Are there certain activities that are best done on a rainy day?