English vs Spanish: Math Operations

Besides the fact that the names are similar, there is really very little that differentiates math operations in English or Spanish.

So let us begin with that precisely:

              Spanish                      English

                Suma                       Addition

                Resta                     Substraction

           Multiplicación           Multiplication

               División                    Division

Now how we express those operations ( meaning how we explain them when we demonstrate a theorem for instance ) implies the use of words that can be distinct. In two of the four operations the translations is literal, not so in one of them (Multiplication) and in Division we have a choice. It goes like this:

Dos más dos es Cuatro (2+2=4)           Two plus two is Four   (you can also say two and two)

Tres menos dos es Uno  (3-2=1)         Three minus two is One 

It is different in Multiplication.

Cuatro por cuatro es diéciseis (4x4=16)   Four times four is Sixteen 

The symbol x is POR in Spanish but in English it represents the number of times a quantity is augmented (after all that is Multiplication really - a number increased a certain number of times). That is why we can also say:

Uno por Seis es Seis  (1x6=6)           Once Six is Six

Dos por Seis es doce (2x6=12)         Twice Six is Twelve

In Division:

Nueve dividido para Tres es Tres (9:3=3)     Nine divided by Three is Three

This can also be expressed like this:             Three goes into Nine Three times.

As usual practice is everything if we want to fix this knowledge.