5 Common Mistakes for Portuguese Speakers

Naturally, when we try to speak in a foreign language we translate directly and literally from our own, but sometimes translating does not work, as in the following examples.

1. congress/conference

• I'm going to an international congress conference about physical therapy this weekend.

Note: Congress is the governing body in the United States consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

2. all the people/everybody

• I think all the people go everybody goes on vacation in August in Europe.

Note: We use "all the people" when it is more specific or qualified, such as "all the people who registered for the test" or "all the people who I invited to the party"...

3. toes/fingers

• My feet were so cold after snowboarding all day that I could hardly move my fingers toes.

Note: The word "toes" does not exist in Portuguese; fingers is used instead.

4.  to have/be ______ years old

• When I had was 10 years old, I visited Finland with my family.

5. to like something

• I like very much going to the beach very much.
• She likes more shopping downtown more than going to the mall.

Note: These are syntax (word order) errors.

Quick Lesson: Possessive: 'S vs. S'

Possessive: 'S

In English, we normally say "John's house" instead of "the house of John."  The syntax (word order) of the possessive case in English is different from most languages, such as the Romance languages (Spanish, French, Portuguese, etc.), so it's helpful to practice this until you become more familiar with the word order.

Ex.

the house of my cousin= my cousin's house
the school of your daughter= your daughter's school
the book of Teresa= Teresa's book
the friend of Adam= Adam's friend
the computer of the library= the library's computer
the beaches of San Diego= San Diego's beaches
the narrow streets of Lisbon= Lisbon's narrow streets

Now, take a look at the following words that end in the letter 's'. 

the surfboard of Charles= Charles' (or Charles's) surfboard
the park of St. James= St. James' (or St. James's) park
the birthday of Agnes= Agnes' (or Agnes's) birthday

It's more common to use the s' instead of s's, but both are correct.

The same rule applies to plural nouns ending in s:

the bikes of the students= the students' (or students's) bikes
the costumes of the actors= the actors' (or actors's) costumes

Exercise 1.  Change the following phrases using 's:

1. the dress of my sister=
2. the car of her cousin=
3. the laptop of Rita=
4. the boots of Sofia=
5. the son of Raquel=
6. the mother of John=
7. the birthday party of Paul=
8. the crayons of Jennifer=
9. the job of my brother=
10. the question of the student=

Exercise 2.  Change the following phrases using s':

1. the phone number of James=
2. the help of Charles=
3. the boutiques of Paris= 
4. the grades of the students=
5. the uniforms of the employees=

What is a homophone?

Homophones are words that have the same exact sound when spoken but are spelled differently in writing.  Here are a sample of homophones according to level to help you improve your writing:

 

Elementary

I=eye
hear=here
our=hour
sale=sail
their=they're
your=you're
you=´u´ (the letter)

 

Beginning

blue=blew
cent=sent
flour=flower
flu=flew
heel=he'll
new=knew
whose=who's

Intermediate

altar=alter
cellar=seller
cite=sight
genes=jeans
miner=minor
muscles=mussels
some=sum

 

Advanced

accept=except
aisle=I'll
bear=bare
principal=principle
site=sight
vain=vein
weather=whether

When do I use DO/DOES/DID?

The structure of questions in English varies depending on the verb.  Verbs are divided into two categories:

1. to be
2. ALL other verbs (DO/DOES/DID)

If the verb is (to be), then the grammar will be different. If the verb is any other verb except (to be), then we use DO/DOES/DID as the helping or auxiliary verb.  We also use DO/DOES/DID for negative statements, but for this post, let's take a look at questions.  At the end of this post, you can find information about questions using the verb TO BE.

Questions: ALL Other Verbs (Using DO/DOES/DID)

To form questions in English using any other verb except (to be), we must use the helping or auxilary verbs: DO/DOES/DID.  Remember that DO/DOES we use in the present tense with the following subjects:

• PRESENT TENSE (AUXILIARY VERB): DO/DOES

Do (I, you, we, they) understand English?
Does (he, she, it, your mother, the man) speak well?

• PAST TENSE (AUXILIARY VERB): DID

And we use DID in the past tense with all subjects:
Did (I, you, he, she, it, we, they) pass the exam?

• When forming questions with DO/DOES/DID, we use the following format:

Question Word + DO/DOES/DID + Subject + Verb
What                 + do                      +you        +like to do on the weekends?

We use DO/DOES/DID with the present and past simple tenses as seen below.

Examples:

• He likes to play baseball.= Does he like to play baseball?
• They went shopping yesterday.= Did they go shopping yesterday?
• They do their homework after dinner.= Do they do their homework after dinner?
• She travels to Asia every summer.= Where does she travel every summer?
• We go jogging at 7:00 am every morning.= When do you go jogging?
• I went to class four times per week.= How often did you go to class?

Questions: TO BE

To form questions using the verb to be, all we do is switch the position of the subject and verb.  Remember, we use the verb to be in the present, past, continuous, future (going to) and passive constructions, as seen below.

 

Examples:

• He is Italian= Is he Italian? (present)
• They are going to participate in the contest=  Are they going to participate in the contest? (future)
• She is leaving soon!= Is she leaving soon? (continous/future)
• The door is closed.= Is the door closed? (present passive)
• The children were swimming all day long.= Were the children swimming all day long? (past continuous)
• He is being interrogated by the FBI.= Is he being interrogated by the FBI? (present continuous)

I hope this helps.  If you have any suggestions for future blog posts, just write under the Q&A page on my blog ;)

TO BE careful (with) VS. TO TAKE care (of)

The following is a common mistake students make:

You have to take care to be careful when you are at the beach all day long...don't forget to wear your sunscreen!

Tourists must take care be careful crossing the border.

TO BE CAREFUL (WITH)

We use this phrasal verb to warn others of danger, to be more cautious, or to avoid an accident.  We use the preposition "with" before the noun (an object or a person):

Ex.

1.  You have to be careful with the computer when you pack it in your luggage.
2.  My son is always careful with his toys and has never broken anything!
3.  He is also very careful with his younger brother who is only six months old.
4.  Parents always tell their children to be careful when they cross the street.

TO TAKE CARE (OF)

We use this phrasal verb to assume responsibility for others and their well-being or to be in charge of a certain task.  

1.  First thing Monday morning, we need to take care of some important business.

2.  Why don't you take better care of your brand new car?

3.  Many people procrastinate and take care of things tomorrow rather than today.

4.  Every other weekend, I take care of my nephew and niece.
5.  "It was great to see you!  Take care!"

What's the difference between THAT and WHICH?

The usage of that and which causes confusion, not only for students learning English as a second or foreign language, but also for native speakers of English.  Therefore, this topic can be a bit complicated for any speaker of English...The following will help clarify the major difference between the two: 

 

THAT

• That is used to describe essential information, necessary to express the meaning of the sentence.  The grammatical term for this is restrictive.  (Note: That always refers to the word preceeding it.)

Examples:

1. The house that was built by my grandfather built now belongs to another family in Nebraska. 
2. The woman that spoke at the conference yesterday gave me some useful information for our next project.

WHICH

• Which, on the other hand, is used for nonessential or extra information, not necessary to complete a sentence.  Commas are used with which but not with that.  This is referred to as non-restrictive.  (Note: Which can refer to the word preceeding it OR to another word in the sentence.)

Examples:

    1.

• The house that was built by my grandfather now belongs to another family in Nebraska, which is now worth three times as much.  (which refers to house) 
• The house that was built by my grandfather now belongs to another family in Nebraska, which is a state in the Midwest.  (which refers to Nebraska) 
• The house that was built by my grandfather now belongs to another family in Nebraska, which is a real shame.  (which refers to the belonging to another family.)

    2.

•  The woman that spoke at the conference yesterday gave me some useful information for our next project, which will start in one month. (which refers to project)
• The woman that spoke at the conference yesterday gave me some useful infomation for our next project, which I really appreciated. (which refers to the woman giving me info)
• The woman that spoke at the conference yesterday gave me some useful information for our next project, which I will pass along to our colleagues. (which refers to information)

5 Phrasal Verbs: BREAK (down/in/into...)

Phrasal verbs (verbs + preposition/s) are commonly used in colloquial English and are usually difficult for students because their roots are not Latin-based.  Sometimes the meaning is literal, and other times it is figurative as seen here:

        Ex. to get down

• During earthquake drills, everybody must get down beneath their desks and cover their heads.  (literal meaning)
• In the 1970s everybody would get down to some James Brown at disco clubs!  (figurative meaning, to dance)

Here are 5 phrasal verbs with BREAK:

1.  to break into: to forcibly enter a building

• Ex.  Somebody broke into the FBI and stole the names of American spies.

2.  to break out of: to escape from somewhere (usually prison)

• Ex. News quickly spread that the former Taliban leader had broken out of Guantanamo Bay detention camp.

3.  to break down: a) car stops running (Note: Computers, cell phones or other small devices, objects DO NOT break down...they just break.  b) to have an emotional crisis

• Ex. a)  My car broke down in the middle of rush hour traffic, so everybody started honking at me!
• Ex. b)  After failing the entrance exam for the fifth time, she broke down and started crying.

4.  to break (something) down: to clarify a complicated issue, to divide

• Ex.  The best teachers are able to break down a complicated concept and explain it in simplified pieces.

5.  to break (something) in: to begin to wear clothing or shoes to fit better or make more comfortable

• Ex.  The dancer likes to break in her new ballet shoes for two weeks before beginning to dance in them.