EnglishisEasy/Elinglésesfácil

You don't because OJALÁ is a word that only exists in Spanish. It all began with the occupation of what now are Spain and Portugal by the Muslims long ago. They remained in that part of Europe until almost the end of the XV century when they were defeated by the combined forces of the kingdoms of Castilla and Aragón. But before they left a considerable number of their words were taken into Spanish which is one of the things that make this language unique. One of such words is OJALÁ which as you can see contains the name by which Muslims know God: Allah (Alá in Spanish). It means "If Allah wishes so." So as there is a bit of irony in the whole thing since every time the very Christian Latin Americans say OJALÁ they are actually mentioning God, in a way similar to how Muslims would. Now there is not an exact word to translate OJALÁ, but there are equivalents. Spanish                               ...

Every time we think of English-speaking countries inevitably we think of two countries: England and the United States. It is like there were no other places where English is the first language. We certainly know of Canada and Australia but we easily forget New Zealand or the Philippines. Nevertheless, there is one country that we cannot be blamed for not remembering because it rarely makes the headlines and in fact very few are aware that it even exists, but it does. Its name is Belize and is in Central America though unlike the other countries in the region this is the only one where English and no Spanish is the first language. How did this happen? The story is an interesting one. It turns out that the British were looking for someplace in terra firma  to extend their empire. They have already taken over many of the Caribbean islands and though not directly they founded a small settlement in a territory that the Spanish considered theirs but had neglected to occupy which is ...

Saying AFTER CHRIST would be the easy way out.  In Spanish that is what we say since DESPUES DE CRISTO means AFTER CHRIST and that's the point: it is what us, Spanish speakers, say but in English they use a different expresion and that most commonly is A.D.  Curiously A.D. is not an English expression because it comes from Latin. A.D. is obviously an acronym with the full expression being ANNO DOMINI. This means IN THE YEAR OF THE LORD clearly alluding to the occidental custom of using the birth of Jesus Christ as a divisory event that separates ancient from modern history. Another difference is that unlike Spanish the placing of this expression is before but not after the year:   Spanish -- 2013 D.C.   English  -- A.D. 2013 (though people these days do it also the other way and is also common to see 2013 A.D.) In order not to make any allusion to Christianity they have coined the acronym C.E. or Common Era so for example you could write: 2013 ...

Ever wondered what happens after the "And they lived Happily Ever After" ending of most fairy tales? Well, it seems that Hollywood producers, always on the look for material to make movies, have as of late found in fairy tales what they were looking for. Proof of that are the recent reinterpretations of  Snow White and Little Red Riding Hood with a Cinderella film announced for 2014.  This year we had the rebellious kids, Hansel (Jeremy Renner) and Gretel (Gemma Artenton) who after defeating the Witch of the house made of candies and cake have grown to become...witch hunters!  I know it sounds predictable but the whole story is very predictable with little or no explanation given about some points such as how these siblings have become so exceptionally skilled at fighting or where they got that state-of-the art weaponry they use to hunt witches. Instead we find them at a point where they are already well-known in their "profession" which is rescue those chi...

ALFOMBRA MAGICA or ALFOMBRA VOLADORA is MAGIC CARPET or FLYING CARPET respectively.  The synonym of CARPET is RUG, however, the word RUG is never used to mean ALFOMBRA MAGICA or ALFOMBRA VOLADORA even though the appropriate term would be RUG and not CARPET.  Why is that? The answer is simple. Though RUG and CARPET are supposed to be the same thing they are not.  The essential difference between both terms is really a matter of size. CARPET is the term most commonly used when these objects cover the floor from wall to wall, and if smaller in size the preferred term is RUG. Nevertheless, most people these days do not pay attention to this detail and both terms are used indistinctly. Now, according to this, we should say Flying Rug but no we don't, and as stated before we say FLYING CARPET. Perhaps it is all about Collocation which is the use of certain words with others but not necessarily all the others. What would Aladdin probably say on the matter?  ...

would you like to see Batman receive the Animé treatment? If your answer is yes, then this is the right movie for you. It is actually a group of six short films developed in Anime style of the highest possible quality by studios of the stature of Madhouse (the same that produced Vampire Hunter D and Highlander) and others. These films were released in 2005 right in between Batman Begins and  The Dark Knight but they are not necessarily part of the story told in the trilogy that Christopher Nolan directed. With that said it is still undeniable that there are in these films details that demonstrate how heavily Nolan's Batman movies influenced Batman: Gotham Knight  which is the name given to this collection. Some of those details are a Morgan Freeman look alike Lucius Fox, the use of Agent Ramírez who only appears in the movies but not in the comics, or villains who are principally mobsters and their henchmen. And this is another characteristic of this production: classic el...

Let's begin by stating there is no thing such as ABANDERADO in the educational systems of any of the English-speaking countries. A good student is a good student, he or she has the best scores and receives honors accordingly, but as part of that recognition there is no such thing as giving him or her the honor of becoming a STANDARD- BEARER. And that expression is the answer to how we say ABANDERADO in English, though the word standard itself does not necessarily mean bandera since also other emblems (even a torch) can be part of the definition of that word. Then in the specific case being mentioned here, that is the greatest honor granted to the best senior student in a high school, the translation can also be FLAG-BEARER. It is not that there are no ABANDERADOS in the English speaking countries, but they are not students. This honor is usally conferred by military institutions to an outstanding cadet or soldier. Standard-bearers are usually seen in parades or similar even...