DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 'FLOOR' AND 'GROUND':

Common error from our Skype English classes: difference between 'floor' and 'ground'. This error is aimed at those who have around level B1. The word 'ground' will refer to 'suelo' but when you are outside or outdoors. 'Floor', however, is for 'el suelo' when it is inside or indoors. For example, 'we will cover the lounge floor with this elegant carpet' and 'the ground is wet and muddy. I hope the sun will dry it'. In the image the 'ground' includes that area around the pool whilst a 'floor' can be seen just through the open doors by the leather sofas. Hope that helps.

COMMON ERROR FROM OUR SKYPE ENGLISH CLASSES Is 'como' translated by 'as' or 'like'??

Our English students often have issues translating 'como'. Should it be 'as' or 'like' when not a question word?Even though there is some disagreement as to the use of these 2 words when translating ‘como’, the basic rule is that if the verb and subject come before ‘como’ then we should use ‘like’. So:

The structure of the sentence is normally: VERB + LIKE + NOUN / PRONOUN.

For example:

There are many beautiful cities in Spain like Salamanca and Toledo.

She speaks like her mother.

If the verb and subject come after

‘como’ then we should use ‘as’.

For example:

Nobody works as she does.

She sings as if it were the last day on earth.

They played football as they were.

In this context many times ‘as’ is replaced by ‘’like’ by native speakers, especially in American English. However, it doesn’t mean you should use ‘like’ in the immediate example above. We have just mentioned this detail so that you are aware that this piece of grammar isn’t always set in stone or black and white.

The exception to the rule above is that if ‘como’ is followed by a noun or pronoun and ‘como’ means ‘in the form of’ or ‘in the position of’ then we need to use ‘as’.

For example:

He works as a taxi driver (in the position of).

We use our garage as a workshop (in the form of).

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Difference between trip and journey (un viaje):

So our Spanish students learning English online with us have trouble translating the term 'un viaje'. Should it be a 'travel', 'trip' or 'journey'? Well it certainly shouldn't be 'a travel': we don’t say ‘I am going to do a travel’. However we can say ‘I am going to do a trip/journey’ or ‘I am going on a trip/journey' when saying 'me voy de viaje'. But there is a difference between ‘trip’ and ‘journey’. ‘Journey’ normally is used to indicate the movement between point A and point B. This could be a very long ‘journey’ of several days, months or even years. For example, ‘it’s a long journey from England to Argentina’ by boat. A ‘journey’ could also be a very short distance like your commute to work. For instance, we can say ‘my journey to work takes me just 10 minutes’. A weekend in Rome is composed of journeys (for example, the movement from your house to arrival at your hotel), but the whole experience is a trip. So, we normally would use ‘trip’ as a countable noun when the travel is not just a movement from point A to point B but includes activities like eating or meetings and/or sleeping. So ‘trip’ has the sense that the person would be staying in a place a certain amount of time. It is the whole experience of being away. Remember, travel is normally a verb (except terms like luxury travel or business travel) so if you don’t use it as a verb you must be very careful. The instances when you can use travel as a noun is when there is an adjective before it as in ‘luxury travel’ or ‘business travel’ or ‘OAP (old aged pensioner) travel’, for example. http://www.clasesinglesonline.com/

TRANSLATING ¡ESTÁ MAL VISTO! - common error by our English students

So another common error our English clients have trouble with is translating the term 'está mal visto'. No, we can't say 'it's badly seen'. In fact, a good option would be 'it's frowned upon'. For example, we could say 'management frowns upon employees socialising by the vending machine'. Happy Thursday! 

Problems that our Spanish speaking students have with the definite article 'the'

Happy new year and festive greetings! In English, when we are referring to the next or last time period in relation to the present, the definite article should be omitted. So ’el año que viene es 2015’. Thus, 2015 is the next time period after the present when we are talking about years. Due to this we don't say 'the next year' when referring to 2015. One must simply say 'next year'. Similarly, as we are in January 'el mes pasado', is December, would be 'last month' and never 'the last month' when referencing the month before the present month. Every one of our Spanish clients makes this error at some stage more than once so please be aware of it. Do text me if you have any doubts. Hope that helps. 

Prepositions related to the festive season

Hi! Another common error from our Skype English classes is that which concerns the prepositions of time for this time of year. For example, we say 'at Christmas' and 'on Christmas day/eve' and 'on new year's day/eve'. The day of 'reyes magos' is called 'epiphany' or 'twelth night' and is not a holiday in the UK or the US. The preposition 'on' would be used in these last 2 examples. Hope that helps and Merry Christmas. 

Other nouns to mean 'robber' with Video

This video explains the difference between 'robber', 'mugger', 'pickpocket-er' and 'burglar'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeMwa-4O8Zg

'To mug' is reasonably easy. It is when someone pickpockets you outside. We are talking about stealing phones, wallets, iPods and the like: small items that you carry on your person. A mugger does this.

'To burgle' is easy too. It's when things from your house are stolen by a thief. A burglar carries this out. 

Concerning 'to rob'.You rob buildings, companies or organisations or people. It is transitive. For example, 'she robbed the bank', 'they robbed the family', 'I was robbed' or 'they robbed el Corte Inglés'. Here, the object is the person or thing that suffers, not what the thrift takes. The noun is 'a robbery'. 

With 'to steal' this is equally transitive but here the object is what is stolen: money, data, a wallet, a phone etc. With 'to steal' when you indicate the innocent party or where the item was taken from, you need the preposition 'from'. For instance, 'she stole the cash from the till', 'I have stolen money from the bank twice' or 'the thief stole the handbag from the frail woman'. We don't usually use a noun with 'to steal'.

Hope that helps. Have a Nice day. http://www.clasesinglesonline.com