Confusing Words
“In case” may seem familiar to Spanish speakers, but it’s not what it seems at first glance. In fact, we need to look at more of the phrase to be sure we know what we’re talking about.
By this, I mean we need to see if there’s an “of”, i.e., “in case of”. This phrase can be translated into Spanish, no problem.
In case of fire, break glass.
The barbeque will be outside. In case of rain, the auditorium can be used as a back-up location.
But, without that “of”, “in case” means “if something should happen”:
You shouldn’t light that match, in case you start a fire.
We’ve prepared the auditorium in case it rains during the barbeque.
A: “What are you saying 1)___me, that I should apologize 2)___ him! But I have nothing to apologize for! If anything, he owes an apology 3)___ me, 4)___being so late!”
B: “I understand what you’re saying, but let me explain something 5)___ you.
This very interesting suffix can be found attached to many relative pronouns, but those words are a bit difficult to translate into Spanish.
The best way to think of them is as a marker for the subjunctive.
For example, the sentence I’ll give you whatever you want could be translated as
To make this easier, we’re going to break all these words into two groups: 1. Despite and in spite of are prepositions, meaning that they must be followed by nouns or verbs in the gerund. Despite having studied, Peter just couldn’t pass the exam. Kelly couldn’t get into the disco in spite of knowing the […]
Fill in the blanks with the correct preposition
I’m normally a happy person, but 1)___ Christmastime, I find myself a bit depressed. It is mostly due 2)___ the fact that I’m far away 3)___my family. They’re 4)___the other side of the Atlantic, 5)___the west coast of the US, 6)___Washington state. I have to spend 15 hours 7)___ a plane …
Like has two main uses, which can sometimes easily be confused.
The first one students often learn is the verb, used to describe something we enjoy or find pleasing:
I like reading books by Chaucer and Shakespeare.
I would like to travel the world.
I never used to like coffee, but now I love it!
Remember, these phrasal verbs are not “take + particle” but rather units, so learn them as such!
Put these verbs in the correct sentence, conjugated as necessary. You may want to look these words up in a dictionary, as they may have secondary meanings! (Just like in that sentence: “look up” isn’t just “turn your eyes to the sky”, it’s also “find information in a reference book”!)
Choose the correct alternative.
Beverly, would you like any/some coffee or tea?
Nate always has anything/something to say, whether it’s useful or not.
Yolanda didn’t want any/some dessert, but I did!
Call me sometime/anytime you need help.
Will there by anything/something else for you today?
Some basic questions Spanish speakers may ask can cause occasional problems in English because English only has one word, to be, where Spanish has two, ser and estar.
First, we know that “¿Cómo está él?” is “How is he?”, as we learned it in the first weeks of class.
But then we have the question “¿Cómo es él?” Our first reaction is to translate literally, but there we have a problem…
Remember, these phrasal verbs are not “look + particle” but rather units, so learn them as such! Put these verbs in the correct sentence, conjugated as necessary. You may want to look these words up in a dictionary, as they may have secondary meanings! (Just like in that sentence: “look up” isn’t just “turn your […]