Get

The verb get has various definitions and uses. Here are the most frequent ones: 1) to receive: get a present 2) to acquire as a result of effort, earn: get a graduate degree; get a high mark in an exam. 3) to take, go after, bring: Get me […]

in, on, at (place)

Spanish-speaking students often confuse these two prepositions as both mean “en” in Spanish. These are their differences in English: IN Inside an enclosed place (building, office, room, bag, box, etc.) or a territory with borders (region, province, country, city, garden, etc.). Expressions with in: in […]

Next Saturday

Today, Saturday 30th March, I realized it´s better to double-check my classes arrangements with students using both languages if needed (first and foreign language). I had scheduled a lesson with three students at 10 am only to find out, when the time arrived, that the […]

make vs. do

These two verbs are often confused by Spanish speakers because both are translated as “hacer”, a verb which has more than one meaning and use in Spanish. Here are the differences between these two verbs: MAKE I managed to make a good presentation for tomorrow´s […]

Commonly confused adjectives

Some personality adjectives may be the source of misunderstandings for a big number of Spanish-speaking students of English. Some of these adjectives are: – Sympathetic: the obvious connection students make is with the word “simpático”, which means “pleasant” or “amusing”. Sympathetic actually means “characterized by, […]

catch vs take

These are two commonly confused expressions here in Spain since both of them mean coger in some cases. Here are the differences between them: 1) Both could be used meaning coger in these examples: I need to take/catch the 10 pm train to London. There´s […]

to arrive

This is a verb which is often misused by Spanish-speaking students of English. Most students tend to translate the Spanish structure “llegar a” to English and this is why they say “arrive to a place”. They even doubt about the verity of what you are […]