03/09/2021
It's important to understand why you can't always translate directly from your own language into English. The translation of a word might have a different meaning in English (padres - 'fathers' is not the same as parents!), the word order can be different (English usually puts adjectives before a noun object for example), and some phrases are more 'idiomatic' in meaning or very specific to the context in English. If you want to improve your English skills and to avoid relying on translating from your language, try a course of one-to-one lessons with us where we can focus on the specific parts of English that you want to practice and improve.
The verb listen is followed by to when there is an object named. Other verbs that have this pattern are: talk/speak/explain to + a person.
The verb BE + used to is followed by a verb-ing. This is because the ‘to’ is a preposition and all prepositions in English must be followed by a noun or a verb-ing (which is ‘acting’ like a noun)
We earn money (a salary, or wages) but we win games or competitions (we can only win money when we are gambling for example, at a casino)
In English, your parents are your mother and father together (you can have one parent but you can’t identify from this which one it is!) Your relatives are your extended family – aunts, uncles, cousins etc. It is easy to confuse the Spanish word parientes for ‘parents’.
The verbs ask and tell are NOT followed by to. However, we have to add the person (my friend) or personal object pronoun (me/you/him/her/us/them) after the verb.
We say from (a time) to (a time) to show the regular duration of a activity or timetable.
When introducing a topic with a sentence starter followed by what we continue the sentence with a statement form NOT a question form.
We can pay attention to something when we need to focus on it carefully.
The verb miss is used in English when talking about public transport to show that we were unable to catch the bus/train/plane that we wanted to go on.
We use the present perfect continuous/progressive form to show duration of an action that started in the past and continues into the present. The question usually starts with ‘how long’ to indicate ‘length of time’.
Does the idea of chairing an online meeting in English make you feel nervous? Sometimes it's just a matter of confidence. These 20 phrases will help you manage meetings professionally in English and make you feel more confident when you are leading a meeting with multiple participants.
What do you say when you are asked a question you don't know the answer to immediately? Difficult enough in your mother tongue. These 20 phrases will help you manage those questions professionally in English.
There are always moments in life and in business where we don't see eye to eye with someone. But the problem is often finding the right language to say "you're wrong" without causing unnecessary offence. Expressing disagreement politely is essential for maintaining positive relationships, fostering effective communication, and upholding personal and professional boundaries. With this language toolbox we hope to provide some language that will help you to handle those difficult discord moments gracefully.