the latest video on the celebrates that the copa america centenario is underway i.e. has started. the cup, traditionally a south american event, is (organized, is happening) for the first time in the united states. the primary focus of the video is the irony that
the tournament is being played against the backdrop of a tense political environment. appealing to the strong and ever-present supremacist attitudes in the republican party, donald trump’s straight talk has his supporters believing they are part of a revolution to make america great again by getting rid of latinos.
is being played is . the subject (the teams playing in copa america) is not included. it is not crucial to the understanding of the idea. backdrop is the setting or the conditions.
the rose bowl was the backdrop for mexico’s copa america match with jamaica yesterday. lots of mexicans showed up.(getty)
indicates that trump anticipates a positive response from his controversial comments about mexico because of ever-present (always there) supremacist attitudes (superior, better than other people) in the republican party.
straight talk is direct or honest communication. get rid of means eliminate, remove or in this situation, deport.
many trump supporters think getting rid of the mexicans in the u.s. is a realistic 21st century policy. (lm otero/ap photo)
the vid mentions an interesting detail related to language. depsite copa america taking place in the u.s.,
they didn’t even bother to translate the name of the tournament into english.
bother in this context means make an effort.
it used to be acceptable to post signs like this outside of businesses in the u.s. make america great again. .
there is commentary in the video about the trump campaign slogan make america great again as well.
shit ain’t never comin back, if it ever actually existed.
shit in this case refers to the time when trump supporters believe the united states was great. ain’t is an informal alternative for all forms of be in the negative. ain’t never is a double negative. following formal grammatical rules, the phrase would be shit is never/isn’t ever coming back. come back, a phrasal verb, means return.
though uruguay had more fans in the stands, venezuela defeated them yesterday to pass to the knockout round.(matt slocum/ap)
actually means in fact or really. it has no connection to time. it is NOT a direct translation for the spanish word actualmente. another important distinction between english and spanish is with the verb exist. in english it must come after the subject, which in this example is “it”; the time when america was great.
fun esl practice 
richyrocks english on youtube
people frequently reminisce (happily remember) about a glorious past, or the good old days. the idea in the video is that “make america great again” is nostalgia, not reality.
who is your team in the copa america centenario? was it a good idea to hold copa america in the united states? share your comments under leave a reply
