Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Spanish

Common English Idioms and Expressions

Work and Pressure

• Employees/Staff: (empleados,staff)
• To be very busy/Under pressure: to be rushed off their feet, to be up to their ears, to be breaking their backs

Opinions and Descriptions

• Food critic: (critica de comida,food critic)
• Write up/Describe: (describir,write up)

Time and Sequence

• Beforehand: (antes de algo,beforehand)
• Afterwards: (despues de algo,afterwards)

Emotions and Feelings

• Relaxed/Thanked God: relieved
• Being nervous/Concerned: have butterflies in your tummy

Livelihood and Relationships

• Make a living/Earn a living: so means of support (ganarse la vida-make a living,earn a living,so means of support)
• Be dating/Going out: (be dating-going out)
• Homosexual/Gay: (homosexual-gay)
• Heterosexual/Straight: (heterosexual-

Types of Talk Shows

There are five primary types of talk shows:

• Dissenting Group (grupo en desacuerdo)
• Press Conference (conferencia de prensa)
• Team Group (equipo)
• Audience Discussion
• Running Analysis (análisis del tema actual)

Key Responsibilities of a Talk Show Presenter

A talk show presenter plays a crucial role in managing the flow and content of the program. Their responsibilities include:

• Controlling discipline and maintaining order.
• Preventing undue dominance by any single participant.
• Steering discussion back to the main subject and keeping it aligned with prescribed lines.
• Being prepared to rescue segments, improvise when necessary, and stall for time.
• Anticipating potential problems and using controlled initiative to resolve them.

Evolution of

Attractions: atracción

München: Germany

DISABLED TOILETS: minusválidos de baños

tourist Information Centre: centro de información turística

DEN HAAG: The Hague the Netherlands.

SEAFRONT: paseo marítimo.

website: pagina web

GENEVA: Switzerland(ZUISA)

SAND: acantilado.

Display rack: expositor, exhibidor.

Lisboa. Portugal.

RIGHT HAND: el de la mano derecha.

Call centre: servicio telefónico de atención

WARSZAWA: Warsaw (VARSOVIA) (Poland)

BEHAVING: comportarse

Dental Appointment: pedir cita con el dentista.

København: Copenhagen (Denmark)

SWEDE: sueco

DISPLAYS: monitor

FIRENZE: Florence (Italy)

FINN: Finlandés
DANE: Danes

TIMETABLES: horario, planificar.

STAINED GLASS WINDOWS: Vidrieras

PRAGA: Prague (Czech Republic)

TOWER: Torre

BARBECUE: BARBACOA

FIREWORKS:

Directions and Movement

• Go straight on: Sigue recto
• Turn back / Go back: Volver
• Turn left/right: Gira a la izquierda/derecha
• Go along: Ve a lo largo de
• Cross: Cruzar
• Take the first: Coge la primera
• It's on the left: Está a la izquierda
• Opposite: Enfrente (cara a cara)
• Near: Cerca
• Next to: Al lado de
• Between: Entre
• At the end (of): Al final de
• At the corner: En la esquina
• Behind: Detrás
• In front of: Delante
• Around the corner: Girando la esquina
• Traffic lights: Semáforo
• Crossroads: Cruce
• Signpost: Señal

Prepositions of Place and Movement

• On: Encima (tocando la superficie)
• In: Dentro de, en (refiriéndose a un lugar)
• Into: Dentro (acompañado de go)
• Through: A través de / atravesar (espacio cerrado)
• Across: Al otro lado de, en frente
• Along: A lo largo de
• To: A, hacia
• Up

Common Jobs and Workplace Tasks

Workplace Tasks: Answer the phone, be on your feet, be part of a team, deal with the public, earn a lot (of money), make phone calls, serve customers, travel a lot, use a computer, wear a uniform, work alone, work indoors or outdoors, work with children, and work long hours or nine-to-five.

Professions: Architect, cleaner, dentist, engineer, farm worker, hairdresser, paramedic, pilot, programmer, receptionist, sales assistant, solicitor, travel agent, and waiter.

Describing Work and Career Paths

Adjectives for Work:

• Creative (creativo)
• Challenging (desafiante)
• Repetitive (repetitivo)
• Rewarding (gratificante)
• Stressful (estresante)
• Tiring (cansancio)
• Varied (variado)

Career Milestones and Experiences: Get qualifications,... Continue reading "English Vocabulary for Jobs and Essential Grammar Rules" »

English Vocabulary: Truth and Deception

• Be economical with the truth: No decir la verdad
• Bluntly: Decir algo a lo bruto
• Deny: Negar
• Fake: Falsa
• Fall for sth: Tragarse algo
• Gossip: Cotillear
• Hoax: Rumor
• Make up: Inventarse algo
• Own up: Admitir
• Pigs might fly: No lo creo
• Pretend: Fingir
• Tell tales: Cotillear o chivarse
• Two-time: A dos bandas, engañar
• White lie: Mentira piadosa

Phrasal Verbs

• Back up: Apoyar
• Cover up: Disfrazar una mentira
• Point out: Señalar
• Tamper with: Manipular, trastear

Beliefs and Opinions

• Activist: Activista
• Agnostic: Agnóstico
• Atheist: Ateo
• Be convinced: Estar convencido
• Believe in: Creer en
• Condemn: Condenar
• Disapprove of: Oponerse
• Environmentalist: Ecologista
• Extremist: Extremista
• Justifiable: Justificable
• Left wing: De izquierdas
• Maintain: Mantener
• Oppose:

Satellite-framed vs Verb-framed Languages

In English or German, most motion verbs can express both movement and manner. They conflate manner in the verb meaning, but when they have to express direction of movement they use satellites or prepositions — satellite-framed languages. In Spanish and other Romance languages, motion verbs tend to conflate path (subir, bajar, salir) while manner must be expressed as an independent element, as an adverbial or gerundive (cojeando, de puntillas) — verb-framed languages.

Translation Approaches: Bottom-Up and Top-Down

Bottom-up approach analysis: literal translation. Top-down: from text level to word.

Lexical Fixedness and Pragmatic Units

Clear-cut problem: different degrees of fixedness and idiomaticity... Continue reading "Motion Verbs, Compound Translation, Dialogue Punctuation" »

Relative Clauses

Types of Relative Clauses

Specifying Relative Clauses

These clauses provide essential information and are not separated by commas. They identify the specific noun or pronoun being referred to. Without the relative clause, the sentence would be incomplete and lack clarity.

Example:

Incorrect: I don't like stories. They have unhappy endings.

Correct: I don't like stories which have unhappy endings.

Explanatory Relative Clauses

These clauses provide additional information that is not essential to the meaning of the sentence. They are set off by commas or a comma and a full stop. They never use the relative pronoun "that."

Example:

Incorrect: Mrs. Morgan is an English teacher. His son is in our class.

Correct: Mrs. Morgan, whose son is in