Conversations with my Students (11)

(In the middle of a class)
Me: Well, in English there are also the Phrasal verbs
Student A: Phrasal verbs? What’s that, Mister?
Me: See, in Spanish we only have one way to express an action: with one word. In English there are those, but you can also express actions with two words. For instance, RETURNAR. In English you can say RETURN and also COME BACK, a phrasal verb. See? Two possible ways to say the same, in Spanish, we can only say RETORNAR.
Student B: Oiga, Mister, pero también se puede decir REGRESAR. (you can also say REGRESAR)
Me: Yes, well that’s a synonym…
Student C: And you can also say VOLVER. Ya son dos (that makes two).
Me: Yes, class, but remember: there are more options in English…
Student D: And let’s not forget ESTAR DE VUELTA!
Student E: ¡Y para ese usamos tres palabras! (and for that we use three words!)
Student F: O sea que con ese le ganamos al inglés! (so, with that one we beat English!)

All students: Yeah! Bien!

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