Merry Christmas & Happy New Year 2015!!

DO or MAKE?

There are always some doubts concerning these two verbs.

Better safe than sorry!!

I know for sure because of my teaching experience that sometimes laughter in September becomes tears in December, the time of the year when students are assessed by their teachers.
There will be more opportunities but it's always best not to put off until tomorrow what you can do today.

Crazy about Black Friday!

Black Friday is the day that follows Thanksgiving Day in the USA (celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November). It is considered somehow the beginning of the Christmas shopping season in the United States.

There are different theories explaining the origin of that name. One probable explanation is that it is when retailers finally begin to show some profit for the year, moving to being ‘in the red’ to ‘in the black’.

In any case, it seems that consumerism is overpowering us.

Everyday vs Every day

Maybe you have asked yourself why 'every day' can be written 'everyday' as well. Do you know the difference? It's quite simple.
EVERYDAY is an adjective. It means 'commonplace' or 'ordinary'.
EVERY DAY is a temporal expression. It means 'each day'.

Have a look at these two examples:
- Don't use the everyday dishes. Today's a special occasion.
- I have to work every day.

Phrasal Verbs

A phrasal verb consists of a verb and a preposition or adverb that modifies or changes the meaning; 

'give up' is a phrasal verb that means 'stop doing' something, which is very different from 'give'.  

 The word or words that modify a verb in this manner can also go under the name particle.

Phrasal verbs can be divided into groups:

Intransitive verbs
These don't take an object.
'They had an argument, but they've made up now'.
Inseparable verbs
The object must come after the particle.
'They are looking after their grandchildren.'
Separable verbs
With some separable verbs, the object must come between the verb and the particle:
'The quality of their work sets them apart from their rivals.'

With some separable verbs, the object can go before or after the particle, though when a pronoun is used it comes before the particle:
Turn the TV off.
Turn off the TV.
Turn it off.

Download a list of phrasal verbs here. 
If you are interested in doing some exercises, click here.

Remembering the Titanic

Don't miss the opportunity to practice both the simple and continuous forms of the past tense.
What happened to the Titanic?

Commonly confused words

Take a look at these two sentences – one of them contains a mistake:

I poured over book after book.

We pored over the catalogues.

Are you sure which one is right? There are a lot of words in English that look or sound alike but have very different meanings, such as pore and pour. It’s easy to get them confused so it is interesting to study them.

Follow the link to learn more.

False Friends

False friends are pairs of words or phrases in two languages that look or sound similar, but differ in meaning. They can cause difficulty for students learning a foreign language because students are likely to identify the words wrongly due to linguistic interference.

actually: en realidad (‘nowadays’, ‘at present’:  actualmente)
to advertise: anunciar (‘to warn’:  advertir, avisar)
advice: consejo (warning, notice:  aviso)
argument: discusión, pelea (plot: argumento)
to assist: ayudar (attend: asistir)
billion: mil millones (trillion: billón)

cap: gorra (layer: capa)
career: carrera profesional, ocupación luego del estudio (degree: carrera universitaria)
carpet: alfombra (folder: carpeta)
cartoon: dibujos animados (cardboard: cartón)
casualty: víctima, herido (coincidence: casualidad)
collar: cuello de las prendas de vestir (necklace: collar)
college: facultad, colegio universitario (school: colegio)

complexion: tez, tono de la piel (build: complexión)
conductor: director de orquesta (driver: conductor)
(to be) constipated: sufrir de estreñimiento (to have a cold/chill: estar constipado/resfriado)
contest: concurso (to answer: contestar)
costume: traje, disfraz (custom, habit: costumbre)
curse: maldición (course: curso; year: curso escolar)
deception: engaño (disappointment: decepción)
dessert: postre (desert: desierto)
disgust: asco, repugnancia (annoyance, quarrel, trouble o to be upset: disgusto/estar disgustado)
economics: economía (cheap: económico, barato)
embarrassed: avergonzado/a (pregnant: embarazada)
estate: propiedad, bien inmueble, patrimonio (state: estado)
eventually: finalmente, tarde o temprano (by chance, possibly: eventualmente)
exit: salida (success: éxito)
fabric: tela (Factory: fábrica)
familiar: conocido, familiar (adjective) (relative: pariente, conocido - noun)

fastidious: exigente, quisquilloso, maniático, meticuloso (tiresome, annoying: fastidioso)
hardly: apenas, difícilmente (strongly: duramente)

idiom: modismo, locución (language: idioma)
influenza: gripe (influence: influencia)
inhabitant: habitante (uninhabited: inhabitado)
to intend: tener la intención de (to try: intentar)
intoxicated: ebrio (with food poisoning: intoxicado)
involve: involucrar (wrap: envolver)
jam: mermelada (ham: jamón)
large: grande, extenso (long: largo)
lecture: conferencia (reading: lectura)
lentil: lenteja (contact lens: lentilla; contact lenses: lentillas)
letter: letra del abecedario o carta (lyrics: letra de una canción)
library: biblioteca (bookshop: librería)
mayor: alcalde (bigger: mayor; old person: persona mayor)
misery: tristeza (poverty: pobreza)
notice: nota, anuncio (a piece of news: noticia)
office: oficina (trade, job: oficio)
ordinary: común (vulgar: ordinario)
pan: cacerola, cazuela (bread: pan)

petrol: gasolina  (oil, petroleum: petróleo)
pie: pastel (foot: pie)
place: lugar (square: plaza)
policy: política (pólice: policía)
to pretend: aparentar, fingir (to expect: pretender)
prize: premio (Price: precio)
to quit: abandonar, dejar (to remove or to put away: quitar)
quote: cita  (fee, installment or payment: cuota)
to realize: darse cuenta (to make: realizar)
to record: grabar (to remember: recordar)
regular: de tamaño normal (bad, not so good: regular)
relatives: parientes (relative: relativo – adjective-)
to remove: quitar, eliminar (to stir: remover)
resort: centro turístico o recurso (spring: resorte)
rope: cuerda, soga (clothes: ropa)
rude: maleducado, descortés (rough: rudo)
sane: cuerdo (healthy: sano)
sensible: sensato (sensitive: sensible)
sensitive: sensible (related to the senses: relacionado con los sentidos)
soap: jabón (soup: sopa)
spade: pala (sword: espada)
stationery: artículos de papelería (stationary: estacionario)
to stay: quedarse (to be: estar)
to stir: revolver un líquido (to stretch: estirar)
stranger: desconocido, forastero (foreigner: extranjero)
to stretch: estirar, extender, ensanchar (to take in, to narrow: estrechar)
suburb: barrio rico periférico de la ciudad (slum: suburbio de casas pobres)
success: éxito (event: suceso, acontecimiento)
to support: apoyar (to put up with: soportar)
sympathetic: comprensivo (nice, likeable: simpático)
sympathy: compasión, comprensión, pésame (friendliness, affection: simpatía)
target: objetivo (card: tarjeta)
terrific: fenomenal, genial (terrifying: terrorífico)
to translate: traducir (to move: trasladarse)
tramp: vagabundo (trap: trampa)
vacuum: vacío (vaccine: vacuna)
zealous: entusiasta (jealous: celoso)