Man and mans, woman and womans: irregular nouns

The root of all pronunciation problems in this topic is that the pronunciation of the British plural and the North American singular for the noun ‘hombre’ are very similar. This is further complicated with the irregularity found in the pronunciation of the plural and singular for ‘mujer’.

Unfortunately, for the learner, the English language brain can usually tell the difference between the pronunciation of the British word ‘men’ and the North American word ‘man’.

The first thing is for the Spanish brain to remember that there is a difference between pronunciations between the English plural and singular word of ‘hombre’. That is to say that these words are irregular nouns because the plural form does not take the letter ‘-s’ or ‘-es’. From here, remember that ‘man’ is singular and ‘men’ is plural, look at the chart below to see the definition and pronunciation guides.

For the uses of ‘mujer’ and ‘mujeres’, just add ‘wo-’ before the English ‘hombre(s)’. So, if ‘hombre / hombres’ in English is ‘man / men’, then ‘mujer / mujeres’ must be ‘woman / women’.

Finally, the pronunciation is obvious for ‘man / men / woman’ but not for ‘women’, the latter is pronounced as ‘wimen’.

Please note that the letter in parenthesis ‘( )’ are almost silent, however, you may pronounce them as you are learning them.

Writing a Composition

Whilst the levels of English are very good in many students, their ability to reproduce it can be a big challenge. Furthermore, if the exercise entails presenting complex ideas, the student may become overwhelmed, causing him to lose vital marks; which means that his level of English is not adequately measured.

The solution to this issue is simple; writing is like decorating a room. If you look at a room that needs decorating, every aspect of the task is done in stages. First two parts is assessing what needs to be done and then preparation:  making the surfaces workable, clean, without holes and cracks etc. Then the first coat of paint is applied to form a good foundation of the surface. After this, the main colour is applied, first to the fittings (skirting board, door, door frames, etc.) then the walls. Now the room is finished and all that is needed is the final touches, the lamp shades, the curtains, the door handles, etc., and ready, the perfect room.

Writing is very similar to decorating a room. The key to understanding what information needs to be written is in understanding the question. Followed closely with writing bullet points of the answer that needs to be given, just so that you know what you are going to write about. After this first part, write short sentences related to the written bullet points. Now that the surface is ready for the first coat of paint, begin writing those sentences in a more coherent manner. This following stage is where the text really shines: at this point the text is built. All the sentences are moved, changed or modified to make a more coherent and strong argument for the writing, where all the sentences are placed together, joined and linked to make a beautiful sea of words that flow together from idea to idea. The final touch is to replace the words for better words, see if the sentence structure can be improved to offer greater description, ensure that the question has been answered, and that is it! You have a top composition.

So the stages for writing are simple, first understand the question and then explore what is being asked. If necessary, break down the question into an order easier to understand. Second write the ideas related to the different parts of the questions. After this, see how the answers relate to each other. Once the answers relate to each other, write full sentences for each. Assemble the sentences ensuring that they all flow and are coherent. Check the work and see that: they answer the original question(s), the best vocabulary being used, the best sentence structure is being used and it makes sense in English instead of Spanish.

© Pablo Martínez Ansaldo, Santiago, 2014

Will vs. Going to

When to use GOING TO

The structure BE GOING TO is normally used to indicate the future but with some type of connection to the present. We use it in the following situations:

• When we have already decided or we intend to do something in the future:

              They’re going to retire to the beach - in fact they have already bought a little beach house.

• When there are definite signs that something is going to happen:

              I think it is going to rain - I just felt a drop.

• When something is about to happen:

              Get back! The bomb is going to explode.

When to use WILL

In other cases, where there is no implicit or explicit connection to the present, use WILL:

For things that we decide to do now.

• I’ll buy one for you too.

              I think I’ll try one of those. (I just decided this right now)

• When we think or believe something about the future.

              My team will not win the league this season.

• I think it will rain later so take an umbrella with you.

              To make an offer, a promise or a threat.

• I’ll give you a discount if you buy it right now.

              I promise I will behave next time.

Adapted from: http://www.grammar.cl/Notes/Future_Will_vs_Going.htm

Lend vs. Borrow

The confusion between 'lend' and 'borrow' is that both mean prestar. So, which one to use? Simple, if prestar is being received by the subject, it is 'borrow' and if prestar is being performed by the subject, then it is 'lend'.

Can I borrow your pen? → 'I' (subject) receives prestar.
¿Puedo yo usar tu lápiz?

You have borrowed many DVDs. → 'You' (subject) receives prestar.
Tu tienes muchos DVD prestados.

I will lend you the books. → 'I' (subject) performs prestar.
Te prestaré los libros.

Can Enzo lend her his phone? → 'Enzo' (subject) performs prestar.

Remind vs. Remember

I REMIND you: Te RECUERDO
I remind you to do your homework.
Te recuerdo que hagas tus tareas.

I REMEBER you: Me ACUERDO de ti
I remember you from the party.
Me acuerdo de ti del carrete.

You REMIND me: Me RECUERDAS
You remind me of Tonka Tomicic.
Me recuerdas de la Tonka Tomicic.

You REMEMBER me: Te ACUERDAS de mí
Do you remember me?
¿Te acuerdas de mí?

Reported Speech

When we report someone’s words we can do it in two ways. We can use direct speech with quotation marks (“I work in a bank”), or we can use reported speech (He said he worked in a bank.)

In reported speech the tenses, word-order and pronouns may be different from those in the original sentence.

Present simple and present continuous tenses

• Direct speech: “I travel a lot in my job.”  Reported speech: He said that he travelled a lot in his job.
• Direct Speech: "Yo viajo mucho en mi trabajo." Reported speech: Él dijo que viajaba mucho en su trabajo.

The present simple tense (I travel) usually changes to the past simple (he travelled) in reported speech.

• Direct speech: “Be quiet. The baby’s sleeping.” Reported speech: She told me to be quiet because the baby was sleeping.
• Direct speech: "No hagas ruido. La guagua está durmiendo." Reported speech: Ella me dijo que no haga ruido porque la guagua estaba durmiendo.

The present continuous usually changes to the past continuous.

NB:

• “I work in Italy.” Reported speech: He told me that he works in Italy.
• Direct speech: “Yo trabajo en Italia.” Reported speech: Él me dijo que trabaja en Italia.

It isn’t always necessary to change the tense. If something is still true now – he still works in Italy  (él aún trabaja en Italia)– we can use the present simple in the reported sentence.

Past simple and past continuous tenses

• Direct speech: “We lived in China for 5 years.” Reported speech: She told me they had lived in China for 5 years.
• Direct speech: “Ellos vivieron en China por 5 años.” Reported speech: Ella me dijo que ellos vivieron en China por 5 años.

The past simple tense (we lived) usually changes to the past perfect (they had lived) in reported speech.

• Direct speech: “I was walking down the road when I saw the accident.” Reported speech: He told me he’d been walking down the road when he’d seen the accident.
• Direct speech: “Estuve caminando en la calle cuando vi el accidente.” Reported speech: Él me dijo que él habia estado caminando en la calle cuando él habia visto el accidente. [Él me dijo que él habia estado caminando en la calle cuando él vio el accidente]

The past continuous usually changes to the past perfect continuous.

Perfect tenses

• Direct speech: “They’ve always been very kind to me”. Reported speech: She said they’d always been very kind to her.
• Direct speech: “Ellos siempre me han sido muy amables”. Reported speech: Ella dijo que ellos siempre le habían sido muy amables.

The present perfect tense (have always been) usually changes to the past perfect tense (had always been).

• Direct speech: “They had already eaten when I arrived.” Reported speech: He said they’d already eaten when he’d arrived.
• Direct speech: “Ellos ya habían comido cuando llegué.” Reported speech: Él dijo que ellos ya habían comido cuando él llegó.

The past perfect tense does not change in reported speech.

Adapted from: https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/print/grammar-reference/reported-speech-1

Obligation

Obligation to do:

I have to wear a helmet at work.
Tengo que usar un casco en el trabajo.

Obligation not to do:

We mustn't smoke in the offices.
No debemos fumar en la oficina

Obligation to do (question):

Do we have to finish early?
¿Tenemos que terminar temprano?

Not an obligation:

He doesn't have to get up early in the mornings.
Él no tiene que levantarse temprano en las mañanas.

Obligation to do:

You must read the manual.
Tienes que leer el manual.

Obligation to do:

My sister has to travel a lot.
Mi hermana tiene que viajar mucho.