EnglishisEasy/Elinglésesfácil

Great outfits, aren´t they? An OUTFIT is a set of clothes you put on when you go out. The most common translation of that word in Spanish is TRAJE but that could be rather inaccurate since for us a TRAJE is this formal combination of pants, a jacket and a tie (a formal SUIT, in other words).  As you can see in the picture all these girls look fantastic in their OUTFITS. In Spanish we would never, or at least rarely, say: "Esas chicas lucen fantásticas en esos TRAJES." We would say ROPAS but not TRAJES.  LA COMBINACION DE ROPAS QUE UNO ELIGE DE ACUERDO A LA OCASIÓN would perhaps be more faithful to the idea of what an OUTFIT is.

Complete name or real name, however you want to put it.    That would be BALLPOINT PEN. It is called like that because unlike quills or fountain pens there is a small circumference that allows just the right amount of  ink to come out and make the desired impression on the paper, the act we call writing. The BALLPOINT PEN was invented, at least in the shape it has these days, by Laszlo Biró, a newspaper editor from Hungary back in the early 1930s.

Animal Farm written by George Orwell (1903-1950) is one of those essential readings that one cannot simply put down. It is an allegory that aims to reflect one of the most relevant events of the history of the XX century: the Russian revolution. At the beginning of the early century, Russia was the largest monarchy in the world. The Czars were all powerful but did not perform so well as governors and the situation was unbearable leading to a revolution that ousted the czars once and for all replacing them with governors that were more attuned with the ideals of a more perfect and fair society, or at least that was the idea.  Soon those who were the ones that had led the revolution died or were ostracized to be replaced now by opportunists who were just a different form of tyranny. Animal Farm  depicts those events disguised in the story of a simple farm where animals are constantly mistreated by their human masters. The animals organized and revolted to expel humans and t...

Though you do not know him, you do know his voice for Paul Bettany is the actor who lends his voice to Tony Stark's computerized servant called J.A.R.V.I.S. (Just A Rather Very Intelligent System). It seems that Bettany will have a much bigger role in the next installment of the Avengers when Stark in order to reinforce Earth defenses creates a robot called Ultron but to do that he uses J.A.R.V.I.S. computer structure. As all good computers in the world of the silver screen, once it becomes sentient it decides to fight its creator and the rest of human species. It is then Ultron and not Thanos who is the main villain in Avengers 2.  At this point this is still a rumor. The history of the Avengers is rich and has lots of potential to be exploited. 

WHATCHAMACALLIT? is actually the short form of a longer expression: What You Might Call It? It is used when you are unable to remember  a specific word as in the following example: In order to finish this operation we will need a special tool, a...WHATCHAMACALLIT?...  I can't remember! WHATCHAMACALLIT? is therefore ¿COMO MISMO ES QUE SE DICE? It is also the name of a chocolate bar produced by Hershey's.

The Banishment of Adam and Eve The word is To BANISH. When someone is BANISHED is expelled from a country usually after receiving an order issued by the government of that country, usually that person's own.  BANISHMENT (DESTIERRO in Spanish) has for long been used by many tyrants throughout History as a way to get rid of "uncomfortable" people. One problem, this word poses for Spanish-speaking English learners is how similar the spelling of BANISHis to that of VANISH (DESAPARECER). In Latin America both B and V have practically the same sound though in Spain that problem does not occur. 

This movie is apparently based on real events and there is also a lot of historical liberties included in the screenplay. It begins in the late 40s with Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn), a mobster who has become quite powerful and has made of Los Angeles his base of operations. Cohen's power is at his peak since almost everyone who can be bought is already in his payroll. One member of the police, John O´Mara (Josh Brolin) believes in what is right and despises Cohen. One day, O'Mara receives from one of his superiors one order that is his dream come true. Chief Parker (Nick Nolte) asks O'Mara to start a secret squad to stop Cohen`s operations and therefore free Los Angeles from all the criminal activity that had alreayd taken over other cities at the time. This secret group, of which there is no historical record, included Segeant Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling), Officer Kennard (Robert Patrick), Officer Ramírez (Michael Peña) among others. It is thanks to this squad that Los ...

Some of the most common fillers in English Tough one, but apparently the word would be FILLERS, short for DISCOURSE FILLERS. In Spanish, and also English, it is what we say in those moments when we apparently do not know what to say. We do know but it is just that our mind and our speaking skills do not necessarily work at the same pace so these words give us time to organize our thoughts and continue speaking. The most popular in Ecuadorian Spanish is ESTE... and also BUENO... In English they are perhaps Well and You know (or Y'know ). They can be simple conjunctions as So or phrases such as I Mean. These days Discourse Fillers are being called Discourse Markers for linguists now argue they all truly have a function other than filling in those pauses we make when we speak.  Perhaps it is to indicate mutual understanding as in You Know  or to initiate discourse (when you begin Well... ). It is said that when overused FILLERS can  be irritating, but then agai...

Does he look disappointed? Not more than I do! Though I may not like it. Though many may not like it, it is done. Ben Affleck has been reveled as the actor to be Batman in the following film of the Man of Steel saga scheduled for 2015. Don't take me wrong. I truly believe Ben Affleck is a great actor, but him being Batman? Something is just not there. This very much reminds me of Nicholas Cage for the role of Superman which in the end never happened (Thanks, God!). It is the same. Versatility has a limit and there are things some actors just cannot do. Being Bruce Wayne requires someone who is glamorous and charming and no doubt Ben can do that, but Batman is dark and moody. Can Affleck do that? No, I try to see it, but I just can't, and true perhaps my sight is limited and I am biased and still I believe that famous names and comics do not necessarily mix.  When is Warner going to understand such a simple truth?               ...

POR ASI DECIRLO, SI ASÍ LO PREFIERE, and EN TÉRMINOS MÁS SIMPLES are all possible interpretations of the expression IF YOU WILL which is deemed sophisticate and thus is used, correctly or incorrectly, by those who want to presume of having a high command of the English language. Here are some examples: Sylvia is suffering of Temporary Memory Loss, Amnesia IF YOU WILL. Bolivar and San Martin are, IF YOU WILL, the closest to real heroes Latin America will ever have.  To make a better effect it is better to place it in the middle or at the end of a statement. Apparently, IF YOU WILL is a shorter version of IF YOU WILL ALLOW ME TO USE THIS PHRASE, something you could perhaps say to sound more complex or interesting though some might you are being pedantic, a bit arrogant if you will. 

This is a Certificate of Studies only. There is a problem with this one.  The most common translation is UNDERGRADUATE CERTIFICATE or GRADUATION DIPLOMA. Curiously that is not a problem in most countries  with the exception of Ecuador where an ACTA DE GRADO is something else. In Ecuador we have CERTIFICADOS and DIPLOMAS, but an ACTA DE GRADO is a specific document where an undergraduate's scores are written down in detail. The closest to that is or would be a GRADUATION SCORE SHEET. this is just another proof that when learning a language the cultural aspect cannot be overlooked or neglected at all.

The fate of true Christians (according to themselves) This is one of those deceiving words known as False Cognates or False Friends. RAPTURE because of its spelling is similar to another word in Spanish RAPTO that has a very different meaning: Abduction. RAPTURE is a synonym of Ecstasy or Joy not Abduction, as in the following example: It is in moments of RAPTURE that lovers seek even more intimate places to express their feelings to one another. Curiously RAPTURE has another meaning with a religious connotation. According to this THE RAPTURE is the moment when Christians will raise to welcome Jesus Christ in his second coming. All of them will be spare from death and go straight to Heaven. Now not all the Christians believe that, this is a belief shared by all Lutherans, but not Catholics for example. When the first Lutherans came to Latin America to spread the gospel the word RAPTURE was erroneously translated as RAPTO, a good one in this case. The word ARREBATAMIENT...

FLEQUILLO or CERQUILLO (as we call it in Ecuador) is BANG or more frequently BANGS.  Defined as that portion of hair that is combed in a way that covers partially or totally the forehead, it is also part of many hairstyles and most of the time the result is quite stylish as it is the case of the girl in the picture, none other than the always cute Jessica Alba.  BANGS are always fun and flirty though they really become (or it becomes if used in singular) only women rather than men.  The reason why people use this word in plural and not singular escapes me. Perhaps it is because of the other meanings the word BANG has such as: a loud noise or to have sexual intercourse.  My money is on the second. ...

This film looks a lot like an action movie but there is also some Chinese history in the mix. The result is ambiguous really but perhaps interesting. It all happens in the XVIII century when the emperor of China of that time who was also a despot and wants to eliminate all opposition by using an elite group of assassins only known a The Guillotines. They are unstoppable but fail to retrieve a rebel to the empire called Wolf who in turn takes away one of them, the only girl who happens to be the daughter of the man who trained them. Having failed a new emperor is now looking for a mistake to have The Guillotines and then have an excuse to get rid of them and replace them with fire guns. As said before it looks like an action movie which then shifts into something else. Wolf for example defends the Chinese Han and is actually trying to convince the Guillotine leader to join his cause because he is not part of the Manchu rulers but also a Chinese Han and thus his efforts are also a ...

This 2013 film is anything but exciting. Nevertheless if you love senseless violence, gore, senseless violence, wild west stories, senseless violence, dark fantasy, senseless violence, Wesley Snipes, and senseless violence-- Well, then this is the right film for you. (did I mention the senseless violence in this film?). Gallowwalkers tells you about Aman (Wesley Snipes), a gunner who got cursed when his mother, a nun at the time, renounced God. The curse allows those who Aman kills come back from the dead seeking revenge. Feeling that the final showdown is approaching Aman enlists the help of a young gunman with the unlikely name Fabulos to help him against his undead enemies. Honestly this is Blade meets The Good the Bad and the Ugly. Freed from his recent problems with U.S. law, this is one of the first films Snipes has starred after his return to the world of movies. If you are one of his fans then you should see it. Otherwise it is just a waste of time. Produced in 2009, th...

It is tempting to rush and say: "¡MÁS TEMPRANO!" and it would be all right. EARLIER does mean MÁS TEMPRANO but that is not its primary meaning. If we say: "Because of the weather I could not arrive EARLIER" then it means MÁS TEMPRANO. If we say: "The painting on this wall seems quite recent. The one on the other wall was probably conceived EARLIER. In this case EARLIER is a perfect synonym of the word BEFORE which in Spanish means ANTES. What if we say: "The conference will take place after Ramadan. The invitations were sent EARLIER."? In this case to translate EARLIER as MAS TEMPRANO is not that appropriate since the events described are occurring on the same day but a period that is longer than that. ANTES would be right though not so elegant or precise as CON ANTERIORIDAD or ANTERIORMENTE which convey the same meaning with a little more formality.

Is it painful? Though it may sound like a hard one it is not. In fact it is prety similar to the Spanish spelling. The word in English is CUTICLE. What is a CUTICLE (we have like twenty of them)?  If the image is not enought o fiigure it out, here you go: it is that brief layer made of skin that covers that part where nails grow out of our fingers or toes. Supposedly, it does not have any specific function other than covering that part. Some people consider that aesthetically speaking CUTICLES are unattractive and advise to remove them since it is not like you can die only because of that (as it is seen in the picture where a CUTICLE is being removed).  The word CUTICLE is apparently taken from French hence its pronunciation (something like KYUTIKOL). Amazingly enough the word CUTICULA exists in English and is used in Zoology mainly with a slightly different meaning. The plural has an irregular form: CUTICULAE.  

(Left to right:  Alnitak ,  Alnilam  and  Mintaka )  The TRES MARIAS is this group of three bright stars that are apparently at the same distance from one another though in reality none is at the same distance. They are called like that in most of Latin America and apparently they are called the THREE KINGS (the Magi) in the Philippine Islands. The TRES MARIAS after whom those stars are named are Mary, mother of Jesus; Mary Magdalene and Mary, the wife of Clopas (probably a relative of Jesus's). To find them in the sky means you are also looking at the constellation of Orion (the Warrior), to be more precise, its belt because that is precisely what the TRES MARIAS are called in English: Orion's Belt.

A computer recreated gallow This word refers to one of the most hateful objects ever created.  GALLOWS are wooden structures designed to carry out executions of those found guilty of serious crimes. In the past European countries used these dreadful inventions to set an example for those who dared rebel against the monarchies or other totalitarian governments existing at the time. Gallows were taken to the New World and their use was popular in the infamous witch hunts and also to execute capital punishment on criminals in the times of the Wild West. In modern times though death penalty still exists in several territories hanging people has been replaced by other more "humane" ways to execute people like deadly injections that deliver quick and painless deaths. Though in the list of what is known as Passive Vocabulary it is still interesting to know of terms such as this. In Spanish this word is PATIBULO.

There is something about Baseball that is fascinating.  Perhaps it is that duality in it since it is a sport to be played in teams and as such it relies heavily in teamwork, but it also needs "individualities". Quite often the strokes of genius that only gifted players come up with make the whole difference between a loss and a victory. What is also appealing about Baseball is how its own history is so deeply connected to the history of the United Sates to the point that it is difficult to understand one without the other. That relationship is shown in movies such as 42, in this case the number given to the first African-American who played in the Major League, the legendary Jackie Robinson. This 2013 film tells a vital episode in the history of the U.S. when there was a color barrier that prevented African Americans from participating in the MLB (Major League Baseball). In 1947 segregation was a commonplace in the U.S. and there were services exclusive to the Whites...

Percy Jackson again Very entertaining movie. The adventures of Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman) continue now that he is fully integrated into the life of a demigod and struggles with the permanent challenges he faces when being in Half-Blood Camp. Besides  his friends, Grover Underwood ( Brandon T. Jackson ), a satyr, and Annabeth Chase ( Alexandra Daddario ), Athena's daughter, Percy is surprised to find out that he has a brother named Tyson (Douglas Smith), a cyclops. He also has a rival, Clarisse La Rue ( Leven Rambin ) who is Ares's daughter. The movie begins with a flashback revealing how Annabeth and other kids arrived at Half- Blood Camp chased by a group of cyclops. One of them, Thalia Grace ( Paloma Kwiatkowski ) sacrifices so the others can reach the gates of the Camp. Since Thalia is the daughter of Zeus who transforms his daughter into a tree before she dies and with that he also grans a gift so no other demigod child dies like Thalia. The new tree extends an i...

The City of Brotherly Love There is a reason why Phillys (Philadelphia's nickname) is called like that and we could safely say that in this case it's all in the name.  The expression it's all in the name indicates that whatever answer we are expecting that answer is in the name of a person or place connected to the case, e.g. the origin of the word Thursday . It means Thor's Day, a day named after Thor, god of thunder in the Norse mythology. The answer was in the name. It's the same in the case of Philadelphia which to start with is not an English name. Its founder, William Penn , took that name from the Greek more specifically from the words Philo which means Love and Adelphos which means Brother, hence Brotherly Love. In other words, to say Philadelphia, the city of Brotherly Love , is kind of redundant.

This 2006 film looks like a historical flick but it is not. Really, it is fictional work that focuses in Beethoven's  last years after having finished his most perfect work: the Ninth Symphony. The story begins with the arrival of one of the fictional elements of the story: in 1824, Anna Holtz  (Diana Krueger) has recently arrived in Vienna to find a position as  a copyist for Beethoven (Edward Harris) who is about to finish his ninth symphony and needs help getting other copies of th ready for the premiere in only four days.  Holtz is a young composer in a time where women were mostly relegated to be housewives and raise kids. She admires Beethoven tho is famous for being despotic, impatient and even rude but who also is the greatest composer of all Austria. And she secretly wants Beethoven to check her work but before she will have to get to know Beethoven not only as the great genius he was but as the human being with all of his flaws and frailties. As I ...

The Groom and Bride aren't laughing for a good reason . One thing that is certain about this movie is how predictable it is. Though it tries to be original it fails to do so and the only thing the audience gets is a production that is supposed to be hilarious when it is only mildly amusing and that just a very few times thanks in no part to the the individual talent of the amazing actors it has but whose abilities are sadly wasted here. The cast is indeed one of the high points of this movie. I have rarely seen an ensemble with the likes of Robin Williams, Susan Sarandon, Robert De Niro and Diane Keaton all together in the same film, but then again is not that any of them is in the pinnacle of their careers. Quite the opposite and because of that they cannot really be picky.  The story is about Don (De Niro) who is currently living with Bebe (Sarandon) who happens to be Don's ex-wife's best friend. Don's ex- wife, Ellie (Keaton) visits them since one of the thr...

Really there is no way to say this in Spanish. As we know BE THERE! is either an instruction or an order. Most expressions like that easily translate into Spanish so for example we can say in English "Go there!" and that in Spanish would be "¡Ve allá!" Pretty much the same thing. Here are more examples: English               Spanish Eat there!            ¡Come allá! Wait there!          ¡Espera allá! Play there!           ¡Juega allá! But BE THERE! is another story entirely. The problem begins with BE having two translations in Spanish: SER and ESTAR.  The first expresses characteristics mainly. For example: "She is very strict!". In Spanish that is translated as "¡Ella es muy estricta!" (SER) The second expresses feelings mostly. For example:  "He is furious!". In Spanish that is translated as "¡Está furioso!" (ESTAR) And also, and here is...

Ultron is probably the most resilient, ruthless and persistent enemy the Avengers have faced and for a very simple reason: he is not alive. True. Ultron is a robot who was created by one of the original Avengers, Dr. Hank Pym a.k.a. Giant Man. Ultron was not supposed to be evil but  a mere aid to the Avengers' cause, however, he was created using Pym's  brain patterns so its intelligence evolved and soon Ultron became aware. Because he had human brain patterns, Ultron developed unusual directives and one of them was to consider all mankind as a threat (including his creator) and therefore all humans are his enemies and subject to termination. Ultron is a machine so he never gets tired and he never quits. Whenever he attacks he has a plan and calculated all the possible outcomes. Every time he has attempted to impose his rule the Avengers have thwarted his efforts and still Ultron has managed to transmit a copy of his consciousness to someone else who was never told he o...

The answer is there is no translation. A STANDOFF is a situation where there a two opposing parties with equal force so it is hard to define who is more powerful than the other. Since none of the parties is capable to impose over the other the situation comes to a standstill or STANDOFF. The easier way to understand this is when we get two gunners, each one pointing at the other and each one undecided on what to do next. The intervention of a third one in equal terms, and who is no friend of any of the the two parties, is known as a MEXICAN STANDOFF. One example of this can be seen in one of the scenes of the Quentin Tarantino movie,  Reservoir Dogs. The term has also been applied in the field of business and also international negotiations.

Skin Hair, well...lots of it. In English VELLO (in singular or plural) is called SKIN HAIR. In other words, it is just HAIR only the one that covers the skin. For Spanish speakers we refer to HAIR in three different ways depending on the part of the body that is covered: -If it covers the head then it is CABELLO. -If it covers both armpits or other intimate parts is called PELO. -If it covers the skin and is short, thin and indefinite we call it VELLO o VELLOS.

Now that the Superman / Batman film has been announced for all those out there surely the wait will be a long one. Fret not since in the meantime you should check those productions called fan films. Fans all over the world would like to see their own vision of what should happen to this or that character and some are serious about it and some even invest money to produce those films. Of course having a limited budget is a problem and also not having the commercial rights to make money out of that are big  deterrents.  One of those fans is independent filmmaker Sandy Collora, a New Yorker who produced Batman: Dead End in 2003 putting Batman against the likes of the xenomorph aliens of Aliens and also the extraterrestrial hunters known as the Predators. The success back then was instantaneous. World´s Finest, produced in 2004, is a trailer for a movie that has never been made that unites Superman and Batman against the common threat of Luthor and Two Face. Bruce Wayne has...