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Word order
Put the following sentences in the correct order: Last night, desert dreamed I on I island in South Pacific was a the. arrived before day had I just the, and at beach I lying on sunset the was. a and daiquiri drinking I listening the to was waves. feeling I was wonderful, a but distance [...]
Idiom: Lose sleep over
Oftentimes, when we have problems on our minds, we may find it hard to fall asleep at night, as our brains process and think and generally worry. When this happens, we say that we’re losing sleep over something.
However, if someone mentions a problem and you are not at all worried about it, you can express that idea saying, “I’m not losing any sleep over it.”
A: I’m worried about our situation in the company.
Verb Tenses: Choose the right one
Verb Tenses: Choose the right one With my birthday less than two weeks away, I am about to enter / would enter my 30s. Yes. I’m going to be 30. Please give me a moment as I have mourned / mourn the loss of my youth. (mourn=lament) Okay, I’m exaggerating / I exaggerate. I really [...]
Prepositions
Most of these prepositions are usually translated as “a” in Spanish. See if you can figure out what each one should be in English. Be careful: one of them needs to be left blank!
Last month, I wanted to go (1)___ Budapest, so my wife and I booked a trip. We arrived (2)___ the airport (3)___ noon and went straight (4)___ the hotel. I was hungry, so we went (5)___ the restaurant and sat down (6)___ the table. I ordered some dish I couldn’t pronounce, just to be exciting. When it arrived, I was taken aback. It smelled (7)___ fish and oregano, but it looked like vegetables, with some other thing (8)___ the side. My wife got a simple salad, and compared (9)___ mine, it looked delicious. I tried tasting my dish, but I couldn’t even swallow it. So I asked (10)___ the waitress to take it back and just bring me a hamburger.
False Friends: Exit/Éxito
Despite their surface similarity, these words are completely unrelated.
The English word is a noun and a verb, and describes how to get out of a place, to leave it.
There must be an Exit sign over every door that leads to the street, in case of emergencies.
After reciting her monologue, Marie bowed before the cheering audience and exited the stage.
Word order
Put the following sentences in the correct order:
been every for has last Madrid Michelle to the travelling two week years.
flying prefers She, are because but driving is on pilots she strike the this week.
also car her new She to try wanted, bought last she week which.
It powerful very is, being careful is not she so speed to very.
car her In old, a it problem wasn’t, a about but in is it little one she this worried.
Typical mistakes
Correct the mistake in each sentence:
After go to the store, I picked up my sister and we went to the cinema.
We saw a new Hollywood comedy that was released for a few weeks ago.
It took place on an airplane that flew from LA to New York.
There was many crazy characters on that plane!
We used to laugh a lot while we saw all their adventures in flight.
Spelling: Doubling Consonants at the End of a Word.
A common problem for English learners is spelling. Oh, let’s be honest, whoever designed English spelling needs to be _____ (I’ll let you fill in the blank with your idea for the best punishment). Despite all the horrible spellings, there are usually rules to most words—we just have a LOT of rules with their nuances (and exceptions).
False Friends: Actually/Actual
These are probably among the most misused false friends, undoubtedly due to their incredible similarity with their Spanish counterparts. However, they have no relation at all!
Actual and Actually are used to present factual information, usually after another person has said something wrong. It’s a great way to politely correct someone. It’s similar in meaning to “real(ly).
Idiom: Cold turkey
Smoking is often considered a nasty habit, and those who want to quit have several ways to give up the habit. Some try to slowly reduce, perhaps with the help of patches or gum. Others turn to electronic cigarettes. A few even do acupuncture or hypnosis. But often the quickest, cheapest, and most dramatic way to give up smoking is to quit cold turkey.
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