Learn with movies Notting Hill

Learn with NOTTING HILL

In this section, we analyze parts of the movie script to learn and understand the use of daily English language.
Read the passages and try to understand them. Then, read the vocabulary explanation. Finally, read the passage again.

WILLIAM: Hello! Hi!
ANNA: Hi.
WILLIAM: Oh, hi! It's William Thacker. Er... I work in a bookshop.
ANNA: You played it pretty cool here, waiting for three days to call.
WILLIAM: No, I've never played anything cool in my entire life. Spike, who I'll stab to death later, never gave me the message.
ANNA: Oh, okay.
WILLIAM: Perhaps I could drop round for tea or something?
ANNA: Yeah... Unfortunately, things are going to be pretty busy, but... okay, let's give it a try. Four o'clock could be good.
WILLIAM: Right! Great!
hi hola. Forma abreviada e informal de decir hello.
to play it cool Es una expresión fija que significa 'tomárselo con calma, hacer como si nada'.
to wait for something esperar algo. Note el uso de la preposición for.
in my entire life en toda mi vida
to stab somebody (to death) matar a alguien a puñaladas. El verb to stab significa apuñalar, clavar un puñal.
to give somebody a message dar un mensaje a alguien
to drop round visitar. También puede decirse to drop by.
unfortunately desafortunadamente, lamentablemente. El opuesto es fortunately, afortunadamente.
pretty busy bastante ocupado. Note el uso de 'pretty' como adverbio, cuyo significado es bastante.
to give it a try intentarlo. Es común escuchar 'Give it a try!' (¡Inténtalo!) o 'Let's give it a try!' (¡Intentémoslo!)
right! interjección para demostrar que se entendió lo que dijo otra persona o que se está de acuerdo. Equivale a '¡bien!', '¡correcto!'.
great! interjección para demostrar que se está de acuerdo o conforme con algo. Equivale a '¡grandioso!'

ANNA: That thing I was doing tonight, I'm not doing it any more. I told them I had to spend the evening with Britain's premier equestrian journalist.
WILLIAM: Oh, well, great! Perfect! Oh, no! It's my sister's birthday. We're meant to be having dinner...
ANNA: Okay, fine.
WILLIAM: But no, I'm sure I can get out of it.
ANNA: No, I mean, if it's fine with you, I'll, you know, be your date.
WILLIAM: You'll be my date at my little sister's birthday party?
ANNA: If that's all right.
WILLIAM: I'm sure it's all right. My friend Max is cooking and he's acknowledged to be the worst cook in the world, but you know, you could hide the food in your handbag or something.
ANNA: Okay.
to spend the evening pasar la noche
premier mejor o más importante
we are meant to be se supone que nosotros estaremos
to get out of something salirse de algo, escaparse
if it's fine with you si te parece bien
to be somebody's date ser pareja de alguien. El verbo 'to date' en este sentido, significa 'tener una cita, salir con alguien'.
to cook cocinar. El sustantivo cook significa 'cocinero' y no 'cooker', que en realidad significa 'cocina', el aparato que se usa para cocinar. De paso, recordemos que 'cocina', el ambiente de una casa, se dice 'kitchen'.
he is acknowledged to be es sabido que él es
the worst... in the world el peor... del mundo. Note el uso de la preposición in (y no of).

WILLIAM: Wait a minute... This is crazy behaviour. Can't we just laugh about this? Seriously, in the huge sweep of things, this stuff doesn't matter.
SPIKE: What he's going to say next is: There are people starving in the Sudan.
WILLIAM: Well, there are. And we don't need to go anywhere near that far. My best friend slipped, she slipped down stairs, cracked her back and she's in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. All I'm asking for is a normal amount of perspective.
ANNA: You're right. Of course, you're right. It's just that I've dealt with this garbage for ten years now. You've had it for ten minutes. Our perspectives are different.
WILLIAM: I mean, today's newspapers will be lining tomorrow's waste paper bins.
ANNA: Excuse me?
WILLIAM: Well, you know, it's just one day. Today's papers will all have been thrown away tomorrow.
ANNA: You really don't get it. This story gets filed. Every time anyone writes anything about me, they'll dig up these photos. Newspapers last forever. I'll regret this forever.
to laugh reirse. Para aprender distintas formar de reirse, vea la sección Ways of laughing.

huge enorme. Un sinónimo, aunque menos común, es enormous.
sweep of things cantidad de cosas
to matter importar
to starve morirse de hambre
to slip resbalarse. Para aprender distintas formar de caminar, vea la sección Ways of walking.

to crack one's back quebrarse la espalda
wheelchair silla de ruedas. La expresión to be confined to a wheelchair significa 'quedar postrado en una silla de ruedas'.
for the rest of her life por el resto de su vida
amount cantidad
to deal with something manejarse con algo
garbage basura, residuos. Algunos términos relacionados son: 'garbage man/collector' (recolector de residuos), 'garbage bag' (bolsa de residuos), 'garbage truck' (camión recolector de residuos).
to line cubrir los bordes
waste paper bin cestos de basura
to throw away arrojar (a la basura)
to get it entenderlo. Es común usarlo en frases como 'Do you get it?' (¿Entiendes?), 'I don't get it' (No entiendo).
to file something archivar algo. Como sustantivo, 'a file' es un archivo.
to dig up something literalmente, excavar, desenterrar. En sentido figurado, descubrir algo que estaba oculto u olvidado.
to last durar
to regret something arrepentirse de algo. Note que no se utiliza ninguna preposición después del verbo. Como sustantivo, 'a regret' es una pena, un pesar. Otras expresiones relacionadas son 'much to my regret' (con gran pesar mío), 'I have no regrets' (No me arrepiento de nada), 'I say it with regret' (Lo digo con dolor), 'We reg