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ASHLEY:
Before we get started today, Adam, I
wanted to ask you about your weekend
at home!
ADAM: It was great, thanks! But
the drive was a little tiring.
Chicago is a lot further away than I
thought.
before we get started: antes
de que empecemos; drive: viaje (en coche); a
little tiring: un poco agotador;
a lot
further
away:
(expresión errónea) mucho más lejos;
than I thought: de lo que yo
pensaba;
ASHLEY: Sorry, you
mean... Chicago is a lot farther away
than you thought.
ADAM: Yes, that is what I said.
ASHLEY: No, you said “further.”
In American English, “further” is
usually used for non-physical or
figurative distances. “Farther” is
the correct word when talking about
actual physical distance - or
distance that you can measure.
a lot
farther
away:
(expresión correcta) mucho más lejos;
what I said: lo que dije;
non-physical or figurative distances:
distancias no físicas o metafóricas;
when talking about: cuando se
habla de; actual physical
distance: distancia física real;
distance that you can measure:
distancia que puedes medir;
ADAM: Non-physical distances?
Can you give me an example?
ASHLEY: Sure. If you cannot
decide on which presidential
candidate to support, you might look
further into their positions on
important issues. Here there is no
actual, measurable distance.
ADAM: Okay, I guess that makes
sense.
sure: desde luego; decide on
which: decidirte por cuál;
candidate to support: candidato
votar; look further into:
interiorizarte más sobre; issues:
problemas de gobierno; measurable
distance: distancia mensurable
(que se puede medir); that makes
sense: eso tiene sentido, eso
parece lógico;
Farther and further
are words that English learners – and even native English speakers
– often confuse. The English language
is full of commonly confused words.
These words may sound the same but
mean different things. Or maybe,
they are spelled the same but mean
different things.
and even: y hasta (los);
often confuse: a menudo
confunden; commonly:
generalmente; may sound the same:
pueden sonar como similares;
Let’s look at some of these commonly
confused words.
let's look at some: analicemos
algunas;
FARTHER AND FURTHER
We will start with the two words we
just mentioned: farther and
further. The word
farther is usually used as an
adverb. In American English, we say
farther when talking about
a physical, measurable distance. For
example, “We walked farther
than we had planned.”
we walked farther: caminamos
más lejos; than we had planned:
de lo que habíamos planeado;
The word further has
several meanings. It can be used as
an adverb, adjective, and even a
verb. As an adverb, further
means “to a greater extent.” For
example, “The scientists are looking
further into the new
research.”
to a greater extent: en mayor
medida (adverbio); are looking
further into: buscando más
evidencias; the new research:
la nueva investigación;
As an adjective, further
means “more or additional.” For
example, “Further research
is needed to reach a conclusion.”
Notice how there is no physical,
measurable distance in these
examples.
further: adicional, extra
(adjetivo); further research:
investigación adicional, más
investigación; is needed to reach:
se necesita para llegar a;
Further can also be a verb.
In its verb form, it means “to help
the progress of something.” For
example, you might hope to “further
your career” by learning English. In
other words, you hope learning
English will help you advance your
career. Again, there is no physical,
measurable distance.
to further: fomentar,
impulsar (verbo); to further your
career: impulsar, progresar en
tu carrera; by learning:
aprendiendo, mediante el aprendizaje
de;
LOSE AND LOOSE
Our second set of commonly confused
words is lose and loose.
These are words that even native
English speakers confuse. Lose
[L-O-S-E] is a verb. Lose
has several meanings. It can mean
“to be unable to find.” You might
tell a forgetful friend, “Don’t lose
your keys again!”
lose: extraviar; to be
unable to find: que no se logra
encontrar; forgetful:
olvidadizo;
Lose can also mean “to fail
to win something.” For example,
“People expected the team to lose
the football game.”
lose: perder (no ganar);
team: equipo (deportivo, de
trabajo de estudio);
It can also mean “to have less and
less of something over time.” If
someone is looking smaller than
before, you might ask, “Did you lose
weight?”
lose: devaluarse, perder peso;
lose weight: adelgazar;
The word loose, [L-O-O-S-E]
is usually used as an adjective.
Notice that loose ends with
a strong “s” sound, while lose,
the verb, ends with a “z” sound.
Loose has no relation to
lose. Loose means “not
tight, secure, or attached.” For
example, you can have a “loose
tooth”, “loose clothing,”
or “loose pieces of paper.”
Loose can also mean “not
exact.” For example, if you try to
very quickly translate something
from your native language to
English, you might be writing a
“loose translation.”
loose: suelto, desprendido
(adjetivo); has no relation to:
no está relacionado con; not
tight, secure, or attached: que
no está ajustado, firme o sujetado;
loose tooth: diente flojo (con
movimiento); loose clothing:
ropa holgada; loose pieces of
papers: papeles dispersos;
loose translation: traducción
aproximada;
ACCEPT AND EXCEPT
Another set of commonly confused
words is accept and
except. Although they are
spelled differently, many American
English speakers pronounce these
words in almost the same way. But,
these two words are not
interchangeable.
are spelled differently:
tienen diferente ortografía;
interchangeable: intercambiables
(reemplazables una por otra);
Accept [A-C-C-E-P-T] is a
verb. To accept means to
receive or take something that is
offered. For example, if a company
offers you a new job, you will
probably accept their offer.
accept: aceptar, admitir;
offer: oferta, ofrecimiento;
Except [E-X-C-E-P-T] can be
used as a preposition, conjunction
or a verb. In general, it means “not
including.” For example, the post
office is open every day except
Sunday.
except: fuera de, excepto
(preposición), excepto que
(conjunción), exceptuar o excluir
(verbo);
Here’s an example of accept
and except in the same
sentence.
“This machine accepts all coins
except pennies.”
accepts all coins: acepta todas
las monedas; except pennies:
excepto peniques o centavos;
As a verb, except
[E-X-C-E-P-T] means “left out.” It
is used in formal speech. You might
say “Women were excepted
from the study.” As verbs,
accept and except have
almost opposite meanings, making
these two words all the more
confusing.
left out: excluido, omitido;
were excepted from: fueron
exceptuadas de; all the more
confusing: aún más confusas;
And that’s Everyday Grammar for this
week. Join us again next week as we
take a look at more examples of
commonly confused words. I’m Adam Brock.
And I’m Ashley Thompson.
join us again: vengan
nuevamente; as we take a look at:
mientras repasamos. |
