5 False Cognates in Portuguese

In case you haven't yet seen these 5 false cognates (or false friends), they are:

Português / English

1.  educado / educated =  polite, well raised, well mannered graduated from high school, college, university etc. 
Ex.  He was educated at the University of San  Diego California and currently teaches in the Language and Literature department. 

2.  esquisito / exquisite = strange, odd, weird, unique, beautiful, refined
Ex. The Italian restaurant in Del Mar has an exquisite view from the terrace overlooking the Pacific ocean.

3.  livraria / library = library, bookstore
Ex.  We did not manage to find the grammar book at the library, so we ended up going to a bookstore.

4.  novela / novel = soap opera, fiction, prose, narrative, book
Ex.  Old Man and the Sea was the last novel Hemingway wrote.

5. smoking / smoking= tuxedo, smoking (a cigarette, pipe, etc.)
Ex.  That man with the long beard sitting in the corner of the room, wearing a tuxedo, smoking a pipe is my uncle.

If you can think of any others leave a message below.  Thanks!

Common Uses and (American) Idioms with the Ubiquitous Verb 'GET'

The word get is the 96th most ubiquitous (commonly occuring) word in the English language, so it's important to know its multiple uses and meanings. In general get is used to describe:

1. to receive (I got an A on my test.), (I got the job!!)
2. to obtain (I need to get that book from the other room.), (Let's get something to eat after class.)
3. to change (I can tell she's getting angry because her tone of voice is getting louder and louder.)  (Whenever they go to Mexico, they get drunk.)
4. to move (We need to get there quickly!) (We need to get the children to safety.) (You won't get very far in life with a negative attitude.)

The following idiomatic expressions are commonly used with get:

• to get it:  Don't you get it? = Don't you understand?
• to get over something: I haven't gotten over my cold yet. = I haven't recovered from my cold yet.
• to get over oneself:  Get over yourself! = Stop being so self centered/conceited.
• to get something across:  I couldn't get the message across effectively because nobody had read the materials I passed out. =  I couldn't communicate effectively because nobody had read the materials I passed out.
• to get along with somebody:  I really get along with my mother-in-law. = I have a good relationship with my mother-in-law.
• to get a lot out of something:  She got a lot out of the seminar. =  The seminar was beneficial for her. 
• to get together with somebody:  Do you want to get together this weekend? =  Do you want to go out this weekend?
• to get by:  The family didn't know how they would get by after the father lost his job. = The family didn't know how they would make enough money after the father lost his job.
• to get away with:  He got away with murder.  =  He was never punished for murder.
• to get around to it:  I'll get around to it later. = I'll do it later. 

Out of curiosity, what in the world is an ONOMATOPOEIA?

design by Tatiana Jacobson

An onomatopoeia is a word that sounds like the word it describes, for example: boom! crash! whoosh! snap! woof-woof!! oops! tap, buzz...  This word found its way into English from the Greek words 'onoma', 'onomat' (name), 'poiein' (to make), and 'oeia' (word-making).  Here are some other fun ones:

• We enjoyed the crackling of the fire as we sat around the campfire in the  forest and stared at the stars.
• I couldn't sleep last night as the faucet went drip, drip, drip.
• Pardon me, I couldn't hear what you said...you were mumbling.  Could you say that again, please?
• Without any manners and in a rush, he slurped up every last bit of his spaghetti with the most obnoxious sounds! 
• The kids splashed around in the pool until the entire patio was soaked. 

It is especially funny, yet unsurprising, how languages all of the world interpret the same sound, as in the sound a cat makes:

• Arabic: muwá
• Chinese: meu-meu
• English: meow
• French: miaou
• Japanese: nya
• Portuguese: miau
• Turkish: miyav

(American) Idioms in RED

All too often, students waste time learning idioms that are outdated and hardly no longer used, so here are 5 idioms that are still regularly used in American English.  Remember that when learning new vocabulary, there is a better chance of retaining information if there is a theme that connects the new words.  Here you have red idioms:

adj.=adjective
adv.=adverb
n.=noun
v.=verb

1.  in the red (adv.): negative bank account balance
"My bank account balance has been in the red ever since we went to Las Vegas!"
2.  seeing red (v.): to become violently, uncontrollably angry
"He has a violent temper, and believe me, when he gets mad, he sees red."
3.  paint the town red (v.): to party all night, to enjoy oneself excessively
"We're not staying home again on a Saturday night.  Let's get out of the house and paint the town red!"
4.  red tape (n.): bureaucratic paperwork, government administrative procedures
"Whenever I renew my passport, I also have to deal with the red tape--forms, birth certificates, social security cards...and unresponsive government workers."
5.  to catch somebody red handed (v.): to catch somebody the moment they are committing a crime
"The murderer was caught red handed after the police found him with the victim's blood on the knife he was still clenching.  (to clench (v.) is to hold tightly)
6.  red light district (n.): The most famous red light district is in Amsterdam where prostitution is legal. 

Note: Did you notice connections in the red idioms?  I'm sure you did, and that is the theme of blood (anger, murder, passion) as seen in 'seeing red', 'paint the town red', 'red light district' and 'red handed'.  While nobody knows precisely where 'paint the town red' originated, some claim that the expression started when a bloody riot occurred in England in the mid 1800's that left the town's buildings red with blood.