FREQUENT WRITING AND SPEAKING MISTAKES (2)

This second part basically focuses on grammar issues, including 'grammar words and phrases'.


1) THE DEFINITE ARTICLE (THE) WHEN GENERALISING


For this very common mistake, which affects communication, see "Omission of 'the' is generalizations" in this blog. An exercise - and its key - is provided. One of its labels is "grammar", of course.


2)     FOR, TO, FOR TO?

For this one, see "PURPOSE: FOR + NOUN PHRASE, (IN ORDER) TO + INFINITIVE CLAUSE, ETC."

3) ‘DURANTE’: FOR / DURING. OTHER RELATED PREPOSITIONS. AGO. PAST SIMPLE VS PRESENT PERFECT

Typical mistake:         * My father was in hospital during six weeks.

During is used to say when something happens; for is used to say how long it takes. So, curiously, it is for that expresses duration. Any tense is possible in both cases, depending on the idea we want to express.

There was a storm during the night: it rained for three or four hours.

My father was in hospital for six weeks during the summer.

Durante is the word in both cases, but this clue may help you as well: when English uses for, we can say durante, but we can also leave out this preposition:

'Estuve alojado en este hotel (durante) tres días' - I stayed in this hotel for three days.

During is usually the same as in, but there are sometimes differences. For example, they are not interchangeable in the following sentences:

We usually go on holiday in July, but last year we went in September. [exactly when]

He had some amazing experiences during his military service.

   [an activity, rather than a period of time]

The most difficult use of for for Spaniards is in connection with the perfect tenses. Here, we use very different structures to refer to an action or state that started in the past and continues up to the present (Present Perfect in English), or one that had started at a previous time in the past and still continued later at a certain time in the past (Past Perfect in English). If we express the starting point rather than the duration, since, not for, is used.

I’ve been here for two hours / since 11.

Llevo aquí dos horas / desde las once.

Hace dos horas que estoy aquí.

Estoy/Llevo aquí desde hace dos horas /desde las once.

(...)

I’ve been waiting for your call for a week / since last Tuesday.

Llevo esperando tu llamada (desde hace) una semana / desde el martes.

Espero / Estoy esperando tu llamada (desde) hace una semana /desde el martes.

Hace una semana que espero / estoy esperando tu llamada.

(...)

When we got home, she’d been playing video games for eight hours / since midday!

Cuando llegamos a casa, llevaba jugando con videojuegos (desde hacía) ocho horas / hacía ocho horas que estaba/llevaba jugando... / llevaba jugando con videojuegos desde las doce. (etc)

The thing is, Spanish is making increasing use of the English structure these days because of so many literal translations on the media, in books and so on. Thus, paradoxically, we end up using the English structure when speaking Spanish and the Spanish structures when speaking English (the latter being completely wrong). An example of the English structure in Spanish is:

Los Masai han vivido en ese territorio durante más de tres décadas.

(This used to mean that they do not live there any longer, but now one simply does not know.)

Don’t confuse for and ago. They are quite different. The only reason why students sometimes confuse them is, again, Spanish (the word hace, actually - so it is ususlly confused only with perfect tenses). Ago clearly says when an action took place. I has nothing to do with duration (how long). It is only used with the Simple Past. The phrase with ago ‘measures’ time from the present to the past.

Compare:

Hace dos meses que nos vimos. (= Nos vimos hace dos meses.)

We saw each other two months ago.

Hace dos meses que nos vemos. (= Nos vemos desde hace dos meses, Llevámos viéndonos desde hace dos meses, Llevámos viéndonos dos meses, etc.)

We’ve been seeing each other for two months. [See is not normally used in the progressive tenses, but this is one of the cases in which it is - it means ‘meet’ and does not really refer to having the sense of sight.]

More examples with ago and for:

It is now 9 p.m. and I finished work at 6 p.m., so I finished three hours ago. I’ve been reading (for) all this time. [This is one of the few expressions in which for is usually omitted, as in (For) how long?]

I bought my house a long time ago - in 1983, I think. I had to pay the bank for twenty years, but now the house is legally mine.

4)     AS / LIKE / SUCH AS / THE WAY / HOW

Typical mistakes:        * It is exported to countries as Germany and Poland.

* He can’t speak English as you.

                                      * He was talking to his employees like a boss.

                                     * Do it how the others have done it.

* He saw how she was crying.

One or two correct alternatives for each of the previous sentences:

It is exported to such countries as Germany and Poland.

He can’t speak English as you do / like you.

                                      He was talking to his employees as a boss.

                                      Do it the way the others have done it.

He saw her crying / He noticed she was crying.

Como has a great deal of meanings and is rendered in many different ways in English. We are not dealing here with all its translations (e.g. when como is conditional, as in “Como te muevas, te la cargas”).

As is used to talk about the job, function, use or role of a person or thing.

I used to work as a taxi driver.

(Like here would suggest a comparison with a taxi driver, not an identity.)

She went to the party dressed as a traffic-warden.

As a lawyer, he advised him not to take the old lady to court.

I’m talking to you as a colleague rather than as a father.

When we want to say that people, things, actions or situations are similar to each other, we can use as or like, depending on the grammar of the sentence.

Like is a preposition - it is followed by a noun or pronoun.

I’m very like my brother.     My sister isn’t much like me.

As is a conjunction - it is followed by a clause, with a subject and verb.

I’m no orator, as Brutus is. (Mark Antony in Julius Caesar)

She’s a fine singer, as her mother used to be.

As is also used before prepositional expressions.

In 1939, as in 1914, there was a great surge or patriotic feeling.

In an informal style, especially in American English, like is very often used as a conjunction instead of as.

Nobody loves you like I do, baby.

Like is also often used, informally, instead of as if, as though.

She sat there eating cream cakes like there was no tomorrow. (como si)

Another use of as is in expressions like as you know, as we agreed, as you suggested. The meaning here is not really ‘comparison’ or ‘similarity’, but ‘identity’. (As you know does not mean ‘You know something like this’; it simply means ‘You know this’.) In an informal style, like is possible in some of these expressions, but it is unusual in educated English.

We can use such as and, more informally, the very common like to exemplify. Try to use the latter only in speech; the former and including are very good options in writing.

She likes dangerous sports like bungee jumping, mountaineering and boxing.

She likes such dangerous sports as bungee jumping, mountaineering and boxing.

She likes dangerous sports such as bungee jumping, mountaineering and boxing.

She likes dangerous sports, including bungee jumping, mountaineering and boxing.

Way (meaning ‘method’) is often used without a preposition.

    Do it any way you like. (Hazlo como quieras - ‘de cualquier forma que quieras’)

When it is followed by a relative clause, that (or no pronoun) is much more common than in which. The idea can be translated as el modo en que, la manera en que... and, usually, como.

   

I liked the way (that) she organized the meeting.

The way (that) you’re doing it is completely crazy.

With perceptive verbs (watch, notice, hear...), Spanish sometimes makes use of como while English prefers other kinds of subordinate clauses, especially an infinitive preceded by its subject.

Vio como [rather than cómo] el animal pasó por encima de la niña.

= Vio al animal pasar por encima de la niña.

He saw the animal walk over the child.

La vi como / que cruzaba la calle. = La vi cruzando la calle.

I saw her crossing the street.

How is only used in questions - direct or indirect - and exclamations. In the former case, cómo (not como) is the Spanish typical equivalent, whereas in the latter, another stressed word is used in Spanish: qué.

How did you do it?     Tell me how you did it.   I’d like to know how you did it.

How are you?            He asked me how I was.   He wanted to know how I was.

How beautiful!          How marvellous the trees are!

How well she plays!    How she’s grown!

Notice that there is a related kind of how-clause in which former Spanish used cuán and contemporary Spanish uses lo ... que ... , qué or (rarely) cómo de ...

It’s incredible how well you dance.           -    Es increíble lo bien que bailas.

I don’t know how old this book is.             -   No sé cómo de viejo es este libro.

I can perfectly see how good you are.       -    Veo perfectamente qué bueno eres.

I don’t know how often she goes swimming.-   No sé con qué frecuencia va a la             
                                                                                                              piscina.

5)     COULD / WAS ABLE TO / MANAGED TO / SUCCEEDED IN

Probably, the one difficult thing about can/could that you need to know is this: could can be used for the past, of course, when it means a general ability and similar things in the past (this is the most common verb form for this usage), but not for onespecific occasion. When you are talking about one thing that you were able to do - often despite difficulties and/or with effort - you must use was/were able to / managed to / succeeded in. Look:

       

               a) I could swim / I was able to swim at a very early age. [past ability]

               b) (After many unsuccessful attempts,) we were able to persuade her /     
                   we managed / to persuade her / we succeeded in persuading her. [one 
                   specific occasion, an achievement, a specific successful occasion ...]

In Spanish, (a) can be 'podía, sabía', whereas (b) can be 'logró, consiguió, pudo'. The 'only' problem is that, on Spanish TV, you also very often hear 'pudo marcar' when the idea is 'podía haber marcado (pero no lo hizo)': might/could have scored. But when 'pudo marcar' is really 'pudo marcar' (= 'lo consiguió'), then you render it like this in English:  managed to score (and the other structures), but not *could score.

Easier: couldn't is for both cases, so the following sentences are both correct:

a) I couldn't speak / wasn't able to speak any English four years ago. (past ability)

b) I couldn't find / wasn't able to find the English word for that at that moment, although I had    
     it on the tip of my tongue. (specific occasion)

6)     SINGULAR OR PLURAL? COUNTABLE OR UNCOUNTABLE? 

• people

People is the usual plural of person, and has therefore plural agreement with the verb (people are, people were, people have, people don’t say, etc), as well as being referred back with the pronouns (or referential words) they, them, their, theirs, themselves.

Remember Barbra Streisand? She used to sing ‘People – people who need people …’ Not *‘People – people who needs people …’

Typical mistakes:

*The people in Berlin was very friendly. When you talked to her, she always spoke English to you and tried to be helpful.

Correct version:

The people in Berlin were very friendly. When you talk to them, they always spoke English to you and tried to be helpful.

• police

 Exactly what has been stated about people is also true about the word police.

Look at the correct usage:

The police don’t have any clues yet. They seem to be puzzled by this new serial killer in the area.

If you need to refer to one person belonging to the police, use police officer, or – less common nowadays – policeman/policewoman. Of course these words have another kind of plural, and you can say, for instance, the two police officers – or the two policemen/policewomen.

• all kinds of

Another Spanish interference.

Correct: I like all kinds of sports.

Incorrect: *I like all kind of sports.

• Some uncountable nouns which cause problems

 Advice, news, and furniture are probably the nouns most frequently mistaken in this respect, one of the reasons for the high frequency of its misuse being – apart from the fact that their typical Spanish translations are countable (e.g. in un consejo, una noticia, muchos muebles) – that they are precisely very frequent English words. So, instead of the idea of ‘consejo / noticias / mueble’, you cam always think of ‘asesoramiento / información nueva / mobiliario’.

All three are uncount nouns; therefore, they have no plural form, cannot be used with one or a(n), and can, instead, take some, any, no, much, (a) little … As they are singular, you can’t use many, several, these or any other plural words. And the verb agrees in the singular, of course. Because of its final s, news is especially confusing!

Typical mistakes:

       *Would you like me to give you an advice?

       *The news are really horrible.

       * Please take all these furnitures out of the room, will you?

Correct versions:

       Would you like me to give you some advice?

       The news is really horrible.

       Please take all this furniture out of the room, will you?

If you really want to refer to one or any other number of specific items, use a piece of (even in the plural, of course). Examples:

       You’ve given me two good pieces of advice concerning my marriage!

       Anyway, no news is good news. Mmm – actually, he has told me one important piece 

       of news: he’s getting married!

       This gorgeous chest of drawers is the single piece of furniture I want to keep.

FREQUENT WRITING AND SPEAKING MISTAKES (1)

[NOTE: In difficult or typically confused cases, the phonological trancription is given to help you with the pronunciation. In these cases, when American and British English differs, only the British version is always supplied, but sometimes you have both here.]

This paper especially centres upon common confusions of certain words, usually due to interference with Spanish, at all levels, but they are mainly “intermediate” issues. Thus, this first part especially deals with a selection of important vocabulary (some basic, usually confused words) rather than grammar, although grammatical related points are discussed when relevant. Some topics are more complicated than is explained here, but you are only  expected to eventually learn this.

1)          DIE   [daɪd]        /  DIED   [daɪd]       /  DEAD   [ded]           /  DEATH   [deq]

Typical mistakes:                 * Did you know that Smith has dead this morning?

* The woman was lying died on the floor.

Die is a regular verb (die-died-died). The -ing form is spelt dying. (Cf. tie-tying, lie-lying)

When we got to the hospital, he had already died.

Dead is an adjective. The commonest opposites are alive (predicative use: He was still alive) and living (attributive use: a living language).

When we got to the hospital, he was already dead.

Latin is a dead language: it is no longer used as a mother tongue.

As with many other adjectives, you need a following noun to say un muerto: a dead man/woman/person. El gato vivo y el muerto: the dead cat and the living one. As with other (not many) adjectives, you can use the dead, but only with a plural noun idea (dead people): Let’s not criticise the dead: No critiquemos a los muertos. (Cf. the poor, the rich, the disabled, the French.)

The confusion between died (past participle) and dead is mainly due to the fact that both are rendered as muerto in Spanish. Ha muerto: He’s/She’s (=has) died; Está muerto/a: He’s/She’s (=is) dead.

Death is the related noun.

Death is a taboo in many cultures.

Life and death are major themes in literature.

2)          TRUE  [tru:]          /  TRUTH   [tru:q]

Typical mistakes:        * He said he had a cold on the phone, but it wasn’t truth.

                                      * Liars are people who don’t tell the true.

True is an adjective, while truth is its derived abstract noun with the Germanic suffix -th. (Cf. dead>death, wide> width, deep>depth, broad>bredth and strong>strength, for example.)

The confusion basically arises from the fact that we usually say ser verdad meaning ser verdadero, whereas in English (and other languages) one says to be true, not *to be truth. Of course, you could also say things like That is the simple truth. In short, use true (not truth) whenever verdadero (=cierto) would also be possible in Spanish.

Oh, that’s true. You’re right.

Do you think that’s true love?

Just tell me the truth. Don’t lie to me again.

We’d better find out the truth about this.

3)          TRAVEL  /  JOURNEY  [‘dʒ ɜ:ʳni]  /  TRIP  /  VOYAGE  [‘vɔɪ•ɪdʒ]

Typical mistake:                            * I hope you had a good travel.

                                                   * We haven’t done a journey for ages.

Travel is almost always an uncountable noun (the plural travels has a very restricted use). It means ‘travelling in general’, and cannot be used with an indefinite article. If you want to refer to a particular ‘piece of travel’, use another word, like journey or trip. Compare:

My hobbies are music, travel and butterfly-collecting. (=travelling)

Travel is much cheaper than it used to be. (=Travelling)

I hope you had a good journey. Are you tired?

How was your trip to the States?

Journey and trip are often used differently. Journey usually refers to the movement to and/ro from a place that is visited; trip means the journey and the visit together. Besides, trip is preferred when the referent is a pleasure excursion and with the word business:

 a business / weekend / holiday trip; a honeymoon trip to Venice

The verb to travel can be used in all cases:

I love travelling. (in general)

Are you travelling by train or by air?

A voyage always implies a journey by water, especially a long one in a ship (or in space, in a spaceship):

        

a voyage from London to Australia

 4)          THOUGH [ðəʊ,  ðoʊ]  /  THROUGH [qru: ]  /  THROW [qrəʊ, qroʊ]  /

THREW [qru:]  / THROWN [qrəʊn,  qroʊn]  / THOUGHT [qɔ:t] / THOROUGH [‘qʌrə]

The spelling, pronunciation and meaning of all these basic words are usually confused.

Though is used in a very similar way to although and even though. Through is a preposition and adverb implying a certain type of real or imaginary movement or direction. Throw is an irregular verb with a great deal of quasi-synonyms. The past tense is threw (pronounced the same way as through), and the past participle is thrown (pronounced as throne, Spanish trono). Thought is, for example, the noun related to the infinitive think (think-thought-thought). Thorough is an adjective whose meaning is, among others, ‘complete’, although you cannot always use it with this meaning; the adverb thoroughly is still more common. Compare.

I’d quite like to go out, (al)though it is a bit late.

It was a quiet party. I had a good time, though. (=however)

I looked through the window and suddenly realized it was snowing.

I went through a very hard period after the accident. (=underwent)

Don’t throw the ball into this basket, will you?

He threw a lot of stones at the passing trains for Aranjuez. (at implies an aggressive    
action)

Why haven’t you thrown the ball to me? (to does not imply the action is aggressive)

I’m so sorry I’ve scared you. I really thought you’d left.

The very thought that she had betrayed him made him still more furious.

Typing all those letters was a thorough waste of time.

Then mix all the ingredients thoroughly with a wooden spoon and just put the

         mixture in the fridge for four hours.

5)          FALL / FEEL

You know these two are basic, different, irregular verbs. Do not confuse the different forms, especially those of the Simple Past:

         fall - fell - fallen

         feel - felt - felt

6)          ‘GANAR’: WIN / BEAT / DEFEAT / EARN...

Typical mistake:         *My boy-friend won me at poker.

You win (or lose) a game, an argument, a battle, a prize, money, etc; but you beat (or are beaten by) the person you are playing, arguing or fighting against.

I usually win when we play.           I beat John at chess yesterday.

My boy-friend beat me at poker.

In many cases (e.g. sports and war) defeat and overcome (derrotar) is the same, or even a better option:

My school defeated / beat yours at football.

Russia was defeated in that war.

They were defeated / overcome in their attempt to reach the top of the mountain.

Use earn when you mean ‘get in return for work, in payment for a loan, or as a reward for one’s qualities’ [in the latter case, win is also possible]:

He used to earn only $ 1,000 a year.

I earn my living / my livelihood / my daily bread honestly.

The money earned 7% interest.

His achievements won/earned him respect and admiration.

It was her career as an actress that made her win/earn fame and fortune.

7)          ‘PERDER’ AND ‘PERDERSE’: MISS / LOSE / GET LOST / WASTE

Typical mistakes:        * I lost the best opportunity.

                                * I’ve lost the last train to Valdemoro.

                                * The little child lost himself in the crowd.

These two Spanish verbs are confusing. These are the basic clues:

-   Use lose in most cases when the Spanish verb is perder, from losing your keys to losing weight.

-   When the Spanish verb is perder but it is used in connection with a means of transport, use miss: miss the train / a plane / bus number 12 ...

-   Remember that when perder means malgastar, derrochar, desperdiciar, the basic English ver is waste, but you can also use lose for time: waste a lot of money at the casino, waste/lose your time doing nothing but sitting on the couch ...

-   When the Spanish verb is perderse and you mean an occassion, an oportunity, an event, use miss: miss many lessons, miss a good chance to score a goal, miss the concert, miss yesterday’s meeting ...

-   When the Spanish verb is perderse and you mean ‘not to know where you are’, use get lost: ‘The little child got lost in the shopping centre. He was lost for over an hour. Poor thing’.

Note that miss is usually translated as echar de menos, too; and that get/be lost (perderse / estar perdido) is just one of innumerable examples of get/be + adjective or participle, denoting, respectively, change of situation or state, and state. For example:

get wet / be wet:                         mojarse / estar mojado

get dark / be dark:                       oscurecer, hacerse oscuro / estar oscuro

get fat / be fat:                           engordar, ponerse gordo / estar gordo

get nervous / be nervous:             ponerse nervioso / estar nervioso

get interesting / be interesting:    ponerse o volverse intersante / estar o ser   

               interesante

get interested / be interested:     interesarse / estar interesado

get bored / be bored:                            aburrirse / estar aburrido

get married / be married:            casarse / estar casado

8)          ‘ESPERAR’: WAIT / HOPE / EXPECT

Typical mistakes are too many to mention.

In European languages at large, there is at least one verb for esperar, aguardar (wait) and another for esperar, tener la esperanza (hope). Usually, another for esperar, tener la expectativa, (expect) too. The origin of the Spanish (con)fusion of all three most probably started because when one is waiting for something to happen, very usually one really hopes that it will happen; similarly, one may be fairly sure that it will happen and, therefore, expects it as well. Think of yourself waiting for a bus! You are in a hurry and hope it will come at last. They normally come eventually, so one really expects it to come in the end.

There are two sets of basic clues I can give you. The first has to do with the related noun:

-   If the noun is espera (waiting) , use wait;

-   if the noun is esperanza (hope) , use hope;

-   if the noun is expetativa, expectación... (expectation) , use expect.

Of course we do not even use the nouns in a systematic way: in Spanish, teachers say Estoy en expectativa de destino (¡a la espera!); Calcula la esperanza matemática (¡la expectativa!), etc.

The second has to do with the good usage of Spanish subordinate clauses, which of course is not observed:

Espero a que / Aguardo a que venga el autobús. -  I’m waiting for the bus to come.

Espero que venga el autobús. -  I hope the bus will come.

Me espero que venga el autobús. -  I expect the bus will come.

Actually, people, instead, say espero y deseo (i.e., hope), and normally neither make these differences nor use aguardar (i.e., wait) or esperarse (i.e., expect), for example.

Typically, you will hear El gobierno espera reducirlo en un 5% , and all three interpretations are potentially correct.

Compare:

I’m sorry I’m late. Have I kept you waiting for so long?

I hope to become an important scientist one day.

The future looks promising. Scientists are already expecting to find a cure very                                                                                                                                soon.

¿Estoy esperando a que acabes? Use wait. Is it like a wish for the future? Use hope. Can you say alguien se espera que...? Use expect.

Other basic, secondarily related English verbs include look forward to. Do you remember this?

9)          ‘DECIR’: SAY / TELL

Typical mistakes:                 * She told that she’d be late.

* She said me that she’d be late.

* I told to the others what I wanted to do.

* You’re saying lies.

* I said them to shut up.

* ‘That’s right,’ she told.

Tell normally has to be followed by a personal direct object - we make it clear who we tell. Say is usually used without a personal object.

She told me that she’d be late.

She said that she’d be late.

I told the others what I wanted to do.

I said what I wanted to do.

Both tell and say can be followed by different kinds of objects referring to what is communicated. These can be vague expressions like a lot, too much, something, nothing, etc.

He didn’t tell me anything that I didn’t know already.

Stop - you’ve said more than enough.

        

Tell (not say) is also used in a few special expressions where the personal object can be left out. The most common ones are:

to tell (sb) a lie;

to tell (sb) the truth; 

to tell (sb) a story;

to tell the time (=to know how to read the clock);

to tell the difference (=to know or be able to explain the difference, as in These twins are supposed not to look the same, but I just can’t tell the difference between them - i.e., distinguish one from the other)

Say can be used with objects like a word, a name, a sentence, a phrase; tell cannot.

Dad, Alice said a naughty word this morning.

In direct speech (not in reported speech - see the previous chapter) say can be used with questions; for example, She said, ‘What do you want?’

Tell + object + infinitive is used to talk about orders, commands, advice, etc. Say cannot be used like this.

I told them to shut up.

My mother used to tell me not to talk to strange men.

Tell Charles to stop worrying and have a drink.

10)      SAY / ASK

Typical mistake:                  * He’s saying if you intend to stay for a long time.

Colloquially, decir is used in Spanish when preguntar is the exact verb (Dice que si vas a quedarte mucho tiempo). Ask (or a similar verb, like inquire), not say,  must be used in English.

He’s asking whether you intend to stay for a long time.

11)      ‘ROBAR’: STEAL / ROB

Typical mistakes:        *He has stolen the bank opposite my house .

                                *She robbed all my money.

Rob is a regular verb (rob-robbed-robbed), whereas the three basic forms of steal are steal-stole-stolen. Students usually confuse these three forms.

The basic difference is that you steal something but rob someone or a place. To help yourself, remember steal is like ‘taking away illegally’, but rob is like Spanish desproveer, despojar (un sitio o a alguien). If you can use llevarse (sin pagar), the verb is steal; if you can use quitarle, the right verb is rob. So people are robbed and dogs are stolen. What about a car? Both. Your car is stolen if someone takes it away for their own use; and your car is robbed if objects - not the car itself - in it are taken away without your permission. I no longer drive, so when someone says Me han robado el coche, I think it has been stolen, but sometimes it has simply been robbed (for instance, a CD-player which was inside has been stolen).

‘What did El Dioni steal?’  ‘A lot of money he was carryng in a van.’

I think that woman over there has just stolen one of your gold watches.

They robbed this bank last night. In fact, it’s been robbed several times recently.

‘I’ve been robbed twice this month’.’ When was the last time they robbed you?’

But sometimes sentences with steal contain a prepositional object with from, while sentences with rob can have one with of. Notice:

One of the paintings by Munch was stolen from this museum.

She has never stolen any money from me. I really trust this waitress.

This museum was robbed of one of Munch’s paintings.

You have robbed me of all my money and my whole life.

As you can see, a sentence with steal can always be transformed into one with rob, and vice versa (if the sentence is complex and does not only have the direct object, but also a prepositional object). Grammar changes are then necessary. In short, you can say either I know you once robbed that lady of an important sum of money or I know you once stole an important sum of money from that lady.

12)      KNOW / MEET

Typical mistakes:   * I immediately fell in love with him when we knew each other.

                                * I immediately fell in love with him when we met.

These verbs are never interchangeable. You may confuse them because of the possible, occasional Spanish translation conocerse. Look at these basic uses:

I’m meeting John at athe station at 10 p.m. tonight.

I immediately fell in love with him when we first met. It was definitely love at first sight.

I know my wife very well. We’ve known each other for forty years.

 I’m just getting to know London. I’ve only lived here for one year and keep on looking left before crossing a street, but I thing I know the city centre fairly well.

‘Do you know any famous people?’ ‘ Well, I’ve sometimes met some, but I don’t really know any, unless I can count Raquel Mosquera and Paco Porras’.

I’ve only met you twice, and you expect me to know you by now?

13)       ‘CONTAR’: TELL / COUNT

Typical mistake:                                     * Don’t count me again what happened.

In many European languages, the basic verb for narrating things (tell) is different from the one for adding things up or saying the numbers (count). Curiously enough (but by no means surprisingly), they are similar: for example, Italian contare/raccontare, German zählen/erzählen, in which the verb for narratives is derived from the mathematical verb, since when one tells a story, the picture in the human psyche is clear that they are in a way counting one event after the other (first, ...; second, ...).

In short, say Don’t tell me again what happened.

And I am not going to tell you anything else!

14)      ‘CERRAR’: CLOSE / CLOSE DOWN / SHUT / LOCK

These are the three basic verbs in this semantic field (of course, verbs such as close up, shut up and lock up also exist).

Use close or shut in most cases, like close / shut the door.

Use close down when referring to something (e.g. a shop) that is not going to open any more:

It’s a pity Sepu closed down some years ago. It was so cheap and convenient for

kitchenware and clothes.

Use lock when a key or a fastener are used. A closed door may not be locked. When people do not want to be robbed, they usually lock doors, windows, boxes, safes, etc.

15)      LAY / LIE

Typical mistakes:        *I found her laying on the floor asleep..

                                *I laid down and closed my eyes.

These two verbs are easily confused. Lay is a regular verb, except for its spelling. All its forms are: lay, lays, laying, laid, laid. It means ‘to put down carefully’, or ‘to put down flat’. It always has an object (i.e., is always used as a transitive verb).

I laid the papers out on the table.

Lay the tent down on the grass and I’ll try to see how to put it up.

[Have you realized this sentence only contains monosyllabic words - 17, to be precise? Not surprisingly, they are all but one native words, not borrowings from Latin, French, Greek, etc. You can even write a novel with words like these!]

Note the special expressions to lay a table (=to put plates, knives, etc on the table) and to lay an egg (a bird’s way of ‘having a baby’).

There are two verbs lie in English. The first one is etymologically related to lay, but is irregular and never has an object (it is intransitive). Its forms are lie, lies, lying. lay, lain. It basically means ‘to be down, to be flat’.

Don’t lie in bed all day. Get up and do some work.

I threw myself flat and lay motionless for ten minutes. (lie in the Simple Past)

The difference between lie and lay is similar to that between rise and raise.

The other verb lie is regular and means, of course, ‘to tell lies/untruths, not to tell the truth’.

You lied to me when you said you love me.

    In short: 

lay	laid	laid	poner estar, estar tumbado, yacer, estar situado mentir
lie	lay	lain
lie	lied	lied

                               

The pronunciations, respectively, are:

leɪ	leɪd	leɪd
laɪ	leɪ	leɪn
laɪ	laɪd	laɪd

 All of them are, therefore, regular.

16)      HEAR / LISTEN

Typical mistakes:        *Suddenly I listened a strange sound.

                                *I was hearing some music at 10 last night.

As you can see from these mistakes, we do not always clearly differentiate between oír and escuchar in Spanish.

Hear is irregular (hear-heard-heard). Herd (a homophone of heard) is a very different word in English.

When we just want to say that sounds come to our ears, we use the verb hear. (Note that if listen is followed by an object, the preposition to must be used.) Compare:

Suddenly I heard a strange noise.

I heard some people passing in the street.

Hello? Hello? Can you hear me?

Listen carefully, please.

I heard them talking in the next room, but I didn’t really listened to what they were saying.

We use hear when we talk about experiencing musical performances, radio broadcasts, talks, lectures, etc.

Did you hear Jack’s talk on Tuesday?

I heard Oistrakh play the Mendelssohn concerto last night.

But: I spent the night listening to CDs. (no public performance)

Hear is not normally used in progressive tenses. Instead of saying *I am / was hearing we use can or could with the infinitive.

I can hear somebody coming.

The difference between hear and listen (to) is similar to the difference between see and look (at) (or watch).

17)      COSTUME [‘kɒstju:m]   /   CUSTOM  [‘kʌstəm]    /   CUSTOMS  [‘kʌstəmz]

Costume (a countable noun) means ‘clothes’, ‘dress’, especially clothes used for ceremonial occasions. A custom is a traditional activity or ceremony. Customs is aduana in Spanish.

The girls were wearing their national costume(s).

A lot of the old customs are dying out now.

The man that the customs officer suspected was smuggling hats.

        

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