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Showing posts from September, 2018

How do you say IRSE A DORMIR in English?

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"OK, good night! I'm going to sle...eh ...bed" If you said GOING TO SLEEP you were right. The only problem with GOING TO SLEEP is that it is not the most common expression to express that idea. It is more likely to say GOING TO BED or BEDTIME than GOING TO SLEEP. Another problem with that expression is how well it translates into Spanish. That is not necessarily a problem unless it happens all the time. There are intrincacies that pertain only to English that Spanish lacks and vicecersa, and when you are aware of that your English sounds a lot better.

What's ACQUAINTANCE in Spanish?

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"Hey, are we friends already?" "Nope, still only ACQUAINTANCES" An ACQUAINTANCE is a person we know, someone we may say hello to, somebody who we are on friendly terms with. But that's it. A person may be your ACQUAINTANCE for years and never become your friend. It is the same in most Spanish-speaking countries where a friend is an Amigo and an ACQUAINTANCE is a CONOCIDO.  "An old ACQUAINTANCE" and "an ACQUAINTANCE of mine" are common expressions that go into Spanish as "Un viejo CONOCIDO" y un "CONOCIDO mío".