Inglés Técnico: Formación de Palabras, Comparativos, Superlativos y Plurales en Informática

WORK BUILDINGS:

DERIVATION: blog = to blog.

AFFIXATION: prefijos y sufijos.

COMPOUNDS:

• ENDOCENTRIC: waterfall, download, pop-up, fidelity, card, keyboard.
• EXOCENTRIC: lady-killer, flat-foot, green-back, red-cap, red-eye.

ACRONYMS: FBI, VIP, NATO, NASA, FUCK.

REDUPLICATION:

• ABLAUT MOTIVATED: flip-flops, ping-pong, zig-zag.
• RHYTHM MOTIVATED: walkie-talkie, higgledy-piggledy, wishy-washy, willy-nilly.

BLENDINGS: Brunch (breakfast + lunch), Breathalyzer (breath + analyzer), Eurovision (Europe + vision), Paratroops (parachute + troops), Motel (motor + hotel), Smog (smoke + fog), Heliport (helicopter + airport).

BORROWINGS:

• Spanish: siesta, paella, flamenco, burrito.
• French: croissant, massage, garage, fiancé.
• Italian: pizza, mafia, pasta.

CLIPPINGS: Telephone, influenza, examination, airplane, refrigerator.

COUNTABLE / UNCOUNTABLE:

Countable: use “a”, “the”, “an”, “many”, “few”, “a few” (user, edition, icon, email, spyware, file, program, application, system...).

Uncountable: use “much”, “little”, “a little” (entertainment, computing, technology, software, music, robotics, multimedia, networking, storage).

Both: security, interface.

COMPARATIVES:

• One syllable = -ER (slow → slower) + than.
• Two syllables = MORE / LESS (modern → more modern) + than.
• Ending in -Y → -IER (noisy → noisier) + than.
• Three or more syllables = MORE (versatile → more versatile) + than.
• Irregular: good → better, bad → worse, little → less.
• As…as y not as…as (la palabra va en medio).

SUPERLATIVES:

• One or two syllables = -EST (cheap → the cheapest).
• Two syllables ending in -ING, -ED, -FUL, -LESS = The most… + palabra.
• Three or more syllables = The most… / The least…
• Two syllables ending in -Y = -I + EST.
• Irregular verbs: good → the best // bad → the worst // little → the least.

PLURAL:

• -S: normalmente.
• -ES: terminaciones en s, x, ch, sh.
• -IES: consonante + y.
• +S: si termina en vocal + y.
• Irregulares: man → men, woman → women, sheep, child → children, mouse → mice.

VOCABULARY:

• desktop = escritorio
• window = ventana
• icon = icono
• folder = carpeta
• menu bar = barra de menú
• drop-down = desplegable
• scroll bar = barra de desplazamiento
• source code = código fuente
• launch a program = lanzar un programa
• tools = herramientas

BUSINESS LETTER:

Dear Ms. Gurrea,

I am writing to confirm that we have sent your "...objetos...". Please allow two weeks for delivery. I am enclosing (le adjunto) a copy of the invoice. We would be grateful if you could (agradecidos si usted pudiera...) make your payment by cheque or directly to our bank account through the Internet. "Añadir algo..." Please contact us if you require any information.

Yours sincerely,

COMPARING SYSTEMS:

I will compare Linux with Windows XP operating system. The Linux operating system has two toolbars. Linux is less advanced than Windows XP, but its games are better. Linux is a free operating system and it hasn’t got viruses. Windows XP has a toolbar, it is easier to use, but it isn’t free and it can get viruses. Linux is faster than Windows, and the text editor is different too. Finally, Linux and Windows XP work in different ways. I prefer the Windows XP operating system because I have always used it and it is easier to use, more modern, and compatible with many other extensions.

FLASH BASED:

I'm going to talk about the iPod. iPods are small devices used to store music, games, photographs, documents and applications. They are designed by Apple. They are very modern and manageable, but they are expensive too. They are available in many colours and sizes. The iPod does not have a keyboard; you move through the menus with a scroll wheel. There are different types of iPod, for example Classic, Nano, Shuffle and Touch. They can store up to 32 GB. With these devices you can save information. My favourite is the iPod Nano because it is small and easy to use.

GIVING INSTRUCTIONS:

First, select the text you wish to copy. To select text, right-click the mouse over the portion of the text that you want to copy, then click the Copy icon on the Standard Toolbar. This copies the selected text to an invisible clipboard. Next, position the cursor where you want the text to appear. Finally, click the Paste icon; this inserts the contents of the clipboard at the insertion point. As well as the icons on the toolbar, you can use the keys Ctrl + C for Copy and Ctrl + V for Paste. These options also appear if you right-click the selected text.