Plural Nouns and Uncountables

How much work have you done today? Did you have much time to do any research? How many people did you contact and how many children were involved. How many jobs do you have and how many days do you rest? How much furniture do you really need and do you want all that equipment in the same room? Is there too much information or too much software that makes it hard to access all the information we need? And there is of course no new news to think about.

Okay, so what is all that about?
The sentences above are full of NOUNS. Yep, those horrible types that are considered uncountable, or plural, or collectives or simply not singular in any way. Many look like their Portuguese equivalents and all of them work differently to the way they are used in Portuguese.

Many nouns can be classified into several meaningful groups which affect the way they can be referenced in English.
Liquids are considered uncountable. Why? Because when we look at a liquid there is no way of counting the liquid without referring to their containers. We have cups, bottles, cartons, barrels, drums, and so many other containers of liquid.
If you ask for a Beer, what are you asking for? Is it a Glass, a Can, a Bottle, Mug, Jug, Pint, Quart or even a yard of beer? When we say "Give me two Beers!", we assume that the person serving us understands the UNIT of Beer we are referring to.
Similarly, ordering two Coffees doesn't mean we are counting a liquid called Coffee, but that we are expecting to receive two CUPS of Coffee.

Grains - Far too small to consider counting. Grains of Sand, Salt, Sugar, Wheat and even Rice.
"Please give me 300 salts, rice!" just doesn't cut it. It is far easier to ask for SOME salt or rice.

Collectives - A term I use when talking about things like furniture. I can have two Tables and four Chairs but I can't have six Furnitures. The word furniture collects similar items under one category the is used as a general representation of those objects. The same is done with Equipment, Information, and Software.
Computers have lots of different software. The operating system is a PIECE of software, as is the Spreadsheet program (Excel) or the programs used to record data and convert files from one format to the other.

Plural nouns are the most annoying. One child and two children. One man and two men. One woman and two women. One person and two people. (While person can be written as persons in the plural, the form People is better used to represent more than one person.)

And finally, the nouns that look plural yet have no singular format.
The most common of these is NEWS. NEWS is NEWS. There is no other format for NEWS.
I have a NEW for you, makes no sense. I have some NEWS, or I have an important piece of NEWS for you is correct. NEW is the opposite to OLD and is an adjective describing a noun.
We have NEWS programs, NEWS desks, NEWS stands and reporters who write the NEWS.
Together with NEWS we also have SPORTS.
I drive a SPORTS car when wearing a SPORTS coat. And now for the SPORTS NEWS.

And you are right in thinking there are so many more uncountable references. My next post will deal with the structures associated with these uncountable variants.

Themes - The Sea

One of the very interesting aspects of English is the very visual nature of the language. The words themselves seem to encapsulate so much of the sense of the original meaning of the words and attribute the same characteristics to a new context. Quite often it isn't only the visual aspect that is sensed. The sounds can be heard as much as the smells and tastes too. Descriptive assimilation is probably the hallmark of the English language.

More / Also

And now to something a little different.

MORE

In the last post I looked at ANother and other. What I didn`t mention was a common mistake I hear and correct a lot.

In English, we use MORE in several different ways. I have MORE time than I thought. There are several MORE things that need to be done. They need only one MORE number to win.

In Portuguese the word MORE and PLUS are the same, mais.
They need mais uma (MORE one) number to win.
Two mais (PLUS) two equals four.

The use of MORE in these two examples is distracting and interrupts the steady flow of the conversation. Coupled with this is the fact that we can also use ANOTHER in the same position as mais is used in Portuguese.

You have ANOTHER three tasks to complete before you leave. You have three MORE tasks to complete before you leave.

They have taken ANOTHER 10% off the price.
Can you wait ANOTHER 10 minutes please? Can you wait 10 MORE minutes please?

The agreement is, you give us your car PLUS R$2000 and we will give you this new model.
If you ADD another R$2000, we will also give you all the optional extras. So that will be, your car PLUS R$2000 for the car, PLUS R$2000 to include the optional extras. That will be a total of R$24000 for this new model that would normally cost R$30000. Congratulations!


ALSO

ALSO is the translation from the word tambem in Portuguese.The problem is that we can ALSO use AS WELL or TOO. So what's the difference? They are positional in use. In the first section of this post, there are a number of examples of the positional use of ALSO.

TOO is universal but;

The word ALSO goes before the verb., I ALSO/TOO like to sing. He ALSO/TOO travels a lot.

When we need to refer to something as ALSO at the end of a sentence, we use AS WELL.
I like to sing AS WELL/TOO. He travels a lot AS WELL/TOO.

We cannot say - He AS WELL travels a lot.
We should NOT say - He travels a lot ALSO. Some Americans can be heard using ALSO at the end of a sentence, but strictly speaking, it is still not considered the correct form.

I ALSO had ANOTHER thing to ADD to this post, but then again there are other things AS WELL that need to be discussed. PLUS this is already boring enough  and that is a good reason TOO.

Another vs Other

Another problem, among all other problems, is the use of ANOTHER and OTHER.

    -  It seems that the only translation learnt when starting to study English is ANOTHER. It is used here universally for singular and plural items.

    -  The problem is probably compounded through the fact that ANOTHER is one word whereas in Portuguese it is two words.

    -  ANOTHER has to be seen as not one word, but as two words that have been joined together to form only the one.

    -  AN is the Article and signifies ONE as in AN event, AN interesting article, AN Elephant etc.
AN OTHER or ANOTHER is a variation of the same theme.
    -  In use we say - There is ONE OTHER problem, or ANOTHER problem. ONE OTHER thing - ANOTHER thing I like etc.

    -  If the object is plural, it makes no sense to use ANOTHER things. But we can, and should use - OTHER things, OTHER people, OTHER objects. ANOTHER person had OTHER ideas about the project.

    -  OTHER never uses an `S` when followed by an object. The sentence `He has OTHERS cars` is wrong. `He has ANOTHER car, or he has OTHER cars.`

    -  The form OTHERS (with the S) is only used when we already know what the object is and the object doesn't need to be repeated.
    -  John and his friends have 5 cars. He has one car and the OTHERS have two cars each.(OTHER friends)
    -  The only OTHER country that speaks Portuguese in the Americas is Haiti. No OTHER countries speak Portuguese. One country speaks French and the OTHERS speak Spanish. ANOTHER country that speaks Portuguese is Portugal.

Possessive Pronouns

In recent posts, I have referred to the Gender issue when moving across from English to Portuguese and back again. Quite often, it seemed to matter only when taking into consideration the use of Articles in a structure.

More recently I discovered another anomaly where Gender plays a great part.

Consider the following sentence.
      'Mary took HIS car to be fixed' 
    -   I of course, tried to correct this and at times joked with the student about an unidentified MALE entity that was suddenly introduced into the conversation.
    -   I never really tried to understand the reason behind the mistake, especially when the student seemed to use the possessive pronoun correctly in the sentence 'Mary took HER table to be fixed'
    -   Over subsequent classes, the problem returned and disappeared seemingly randomly so I put it down to tiredness or a lack of attention.

    -   Then, last week I was prompted to reflect on this issue once again when I referred to the Gender influence.

With the help of some of my students, I began to learn the true reason why Brazilians confuse the use of possessive pronouns in English.

    -   The Subject - I, we, you, they etc take the possessive attitude in English. Objects are referred to by the pronoun 'It'. When we wish to attribute a possessive attitude to an object it will always be with Its.

    -   'Mary took her Car with its broken window to be fixed'.
    -   'The dog buried its bone under the tree.'

In Portuguese, the possessive form is attributed to the object.
    -   In the sentence, 'Mary took HIS car to be fixed'  (Mary levou SEU carro) - it is the object Car that is referred to in the possessive case. Car is carro in Portuguese and receives a masculine attribute, 'o carro', hence the use of HIS.
    -   In the sentence ''Mary took HER table to be fixed, (Mary levou SUA mesa). Table = mesa, receiving a female attribute - 'a mesa', resulting in HER table.
    -   Portuguese is more like English when the structure changes in the sentence - 'Mary levou o carro dela' (Mary took the car hers), or 'Mary levou a mesa dela' (Mary took the table hers).


Now that you understand the reasoning behind the mistakes made, it is time to remind you of the correct structures.
Mary took HER car and HER table to be fixed. The gender case is the subject Mary, she - her.
John took HIS car and HIS table to be fixed. Once again the Gender case is the subject John, he - his.
They took THEIR cars and THEIR tables to be fixed. (They - their)
We took OUR cars and OUR tables to be fixed. (We - our)
Mary took HER brother to the doctor's, then John took HIS sister out to dinner. Later they took THEIR mother to the cinema. (as above)

Come back / Go back / Return

So what is it we are doing?
Are we GOING BACK, COMING BACK, or can we simply say RETURNING?

For some reason, it seems so easy and natural for me to choose the correct form because it is intuitive. I have grown up with a sense of what it is TO COME and TO GO, so it is hard to stop and try to understand why it is so counter-intuitive for non-native speakers.

I remember mentioning in one of my early posts, how hard it is to `Gender` things in Portuguese (adding an `a` or an `o` to the end of nouns like Marcelo, carro (male) and Marcela, mesa (female)), as is done in many Latin-based languages. For speakers of these languages, it is as intuitive for them to understand `Gender` as it is for me to understand COME and GO.

So let`s begin.

GO - A place we want to reach, to get to, a destination.
    -  I am GOING home late today. When I get home I will order Pizza.
(I am not at home, I am somewhere else so I have to GO home from where I am)
    -  I am GOING BACK to bed. I am still tired.
(I am not in bed, perhaps I have just left it, but I want to RETURN to my bed.)

COME - To me, from somewhere else to where I am.
    -  He is COMING home late today. When he gets home, I will order Pizza.
(I am at home and my brother is somewhere else so he has to COME home from where he is.

    -  Are you COMING BACK to bed. I am still tired?
(I am in bed, perhaps my partner has just left it, but I want my partner to RETURN to my bed.)

In these examples, I have tried to make the idea of COME and GO as simple as possible. The use of COME or GO depends on how the information you are giving relates to YOU or the TARGET Subject.

Consider the following;
    -  `Sorry Mum, I am only GOING home when I am ready.`
(The TARGET Subject is ME - I could be going anywhere, and eventually it will be home.)
    -  `Sorry Mum, I am only COMING home when I am ready.
(The TARGET Subject is MUM - I am replying to Mum asking me `When are you COMING home?`)

Now, what about the BACK.
    -  When I COME BACK FROM New york, I will phone you.
(Here we are talking about a future event where I am not in New York at the moment but expect to go there soon, then RETURN TO the place of speaking. Note the matching FROM.)

    -  When I GO BACK TO New York, I will study more.
(In this case I WAS in New York and am not there now. I intend to RETURN TO New York and hope to study more once I am there. Note the matching TO.)

The translation from Portuguese includes BACK, while there is always confusion as to whether to use COME or GO as in COME BACK or GO BACK. (BACK in this structure is a preposition.)
BACK by itself can NOT be used.
    -  I need to BACK home just doesn't work. You MUST use GO BACK or COME BACK.
(BACK can NOT be used as a verb in this context.)

    -  In the famous phrase - 'I'll be back' - BACK is used as an adjective in the same way as HOME in 'I'll be home' and HAPPY in 'I'll be HAPPY'

When unsure of which option to use, GO BACK or COME BACK, it is much simpler to use RETURN.

In all of the above examples, RETURN works perfectly well

Anticipate vs Bring forward or start earlier

Anticipate vs Bring forward or start earlier

The word anticipar (Portuguese) is often translated into ANTICIPATE, in sentences like;
                  - "Can we ANTICIPATE our next class?"
(Meaning the speaker wants to start the class earlier)

This phrase in English seems very strange. When we ANTICIPATE something, we usually prepare something we believe will be necessary in advance. ANTICIPATE has a sense of predicting a future necessity, NOT to start something earlier as is understood by the writer`s question.

Proper use of ANTICIPATE can be seen in these examples;
                  - "We ANTICIPATED your need for a Slide projector, so we  set one up for you in the meeting room."
                  - Apple ANTICIPATED there would be higher sales of its new smartphone through the first few days, so provided more sales people to cope with the demand.

We would normally write this question in the following way;
                  - "Can we start the meeting/our next class earlier?" (Usually for the same day)
Or
                  - "Can we bring the meeting/our next class forward to Tuesday instead of Wednesday?"

In a similar way;
                  - "Can we postpone the meeting/our next class until Wednesday?"
                  - "Can we start the meeting/our next class a little later, say 19:00 instead of 18:00?"
                  - "Can we move the meeting back by an hour?"

These forms are all used to have an appointment start at a later time or date.

Pick vs Pick up

PICK vs PICK UP

The difference here doesn`t seem that great at first glance.
    PICK usually means select;
                  - Please PICK the colour of the car you would like? So you choose the colour you want.

    PICK UP is a phrasal verb which means to collect or retrieve.
                  - The car will be ready on Friday. You can PICK it UP then.

(Note how the verb (PICK) and preposition (UP) can be separated by the subject.)

Some of my students with children will sometimes tell me;
                  - "I will PICK my children from the school".

(I sometimes wonder if there is a special scheme here in Brazil where if your children annoy you too much, you can choose to take some other children instead.)

                  - Of course they mean to say they will PICK their children UP from school.

Compare the following;
                  - "There is a Board Meeting in 2 hours. We need to PICK the Chairman."
                  - (Confusion) "But we already have a Chairman. What happened?"
                  - "Nothing. What do you mean? He is returning from a meeting in RJ. We have to PICK him from the Airport." (It should have been, "PICK him UP")

This is one of those situations where too many doubts arise, simply because of a missed preposition.

Happy Families

So, you have a nice, happy FAMILY, two PARENTS, CHILDREN, SONS and daughters, Brothers and Sisters, maybe even STEP Brothers and STEP Sisters or even FOSTER children, probably GRAND-parents and PARENTS-IN-LAW, not to mention Uncles, Aunts, Nieces and Nephews, Cousins or even an adopted family member. There is no end to the confusion a family can bring.

And confusion it does bring as soon as we start moving across cultures and language.
        -  Relatives, Kin - Parentes

        -  Parents - Pais

        -  Family - Familiares. (NOT to be confused with FAMILIAR - which means someone or something that we know quite well)

The first time I heard someone tell me they had 10 Parents living in Sao Paulo, I was really confused. (They meant that they had 10 relatives living in Sao Paulo)

In English, a Parent can only be your Mother or Father. 

We have Grandparents and Step-parents which fulfill similar roles as parents do. 
        -  Parents are NOT your Uncles and Aunts, nor your Nieces, nephews or cousins. These we refer to as Family or Relatives. Your Mothers large family of 6 brothers and 5 sisters are all your relatives.
        -  Their extended families are often referred to as Distant relatives.

For older generations we begin with GRAND, as in Grandparent being your Grandfather or Grandmother.
        -  Then their parents are referred to, by us, as GREAT as in Great Grandfather, Great Grandmother etc, which becomes Great, Great, Great for each generation that precedes theirs.

        -  In Brazil it isn't uncommon for us to hear a relatively young woman saying she is a Great Grandmother. She means that her Granddaughter(or Grandson) has had a child.

While on this subject let's look at another awkward set of family terms.

        -  The term STEP as in Step Mother, Step Father or Step-children, refers to the Mother or Father or Children who are not yours by blood but through remarriage when two families become united under one family.

        -  This is not to be confused with FOSTER (Mother, Father, Children) which is part of a social program designed to provide, usually temporarily, a family environment for mostly children, when their own environment is compromised. FOSTER and ADOPTED should not be confused. An adopted child or family refers to a choice in making the Adopted members legally real members of a family. As real members of the Family, the same designation applies, Father, Mother, Son, Daughter, Brother or Sister.
        -  And what about IN LAW? you might ask. Parents IN LAW refer to your Father IN LAW or Mother IN LAW. (IN LAW obviously means that the relationship comes about through LAW, being your marriage). IN LAW relations include - Brother IN LAW and Sister IN LAW. 

        -  Brazil has a strong religious trait to it which means that it is not uncommon for families to invite friends to be their children's GOD PARENTS. They are referred to as GOD MOTHERS and GOD FATHERS to their GOD CHILDREN (GOD DAUGHTER or GOD SON)

Sons, Children - Filhos

        -  While the translation is correct, the word Filhos is also used to mean children.
This leads to a lot of confusion when Brazilians ask questions like, 
        -  'Do you have any Sons?' (already a strange first question. We would ask - 'Do you have any children?).
        -  When you answer, Yes, 2 sons and a daughter, the normal understanding would be, Oh, so you have 3 sons. After some time the speaker begins to understand the term children and can relate to that concept when the children are young.

        -  Then the same speaker talks to a much older person and reverts to;
        -  'How many sons do you have?'

The concept of Child - crianca in Brazil, is for young and small members of your Family or young and small people, children in general.

        -  In English, a child is a small and young human, but your children are your offspring as well. 
        -  Your children are born and remain YOUR children, even when they grow up. They will always be YOUR children, not simply CHILDREN (small, young people). 
        -  'How many Children do you have?' 
        -  'I have 3 children, 2 sons who are both married and a daughter who is teaching at Univeristy.'

Usually vs Used to - Accustomed

English speakers usually have no problems with distinguishing between USED TO, USED TO DOING and USUALLY.

Unfortunately, this is not always the case with non-native speakers, especially Brazilians

You could attribute this perhaps, to what is really a false friend in the word ACCUSTOMED or acostumado in Portuguese. We are ACCUSTOMED TO DOING something is understood to mean usually or habitually by Brazilians when in fact it has quite a different meaning.

To be ACCUSTOMED to something or be ACCUSTOMED TO DOING something indicates the acceptance of something being NORMAL or USUAL (not repeated or habitual)

Compare the following;

                  - I USED TO go everywhere by bicycle, but now I use the Bus.
(I USED TO is a simple past tense structure and means that the statement isn't true today. I USED TO drink a lot of Coke. I USED TO smoke.)

                  - I AM USED TO RIDING around the city on Buses.
(Taking Buses is easy for me. I have no problem finding the Buses I need when I need them.
PLEASE note. The verb to BE (AM, IS, ARE, WAS, WERE etc,) means that the main verb MUST be VERB + ing - riding, taking, estimating etc)

                  - I AM ACCUSTOMED TO RIDING around the city on Buses.
(It is my CUSTOM to take the Bus when I go around the City. Sometimes I MIGHT take a Taxi, The Train or get a ride with someone, or even ride my Bike, but it is more NORMAL or USUAL for me to go by Bus.
PLEASE note. The verb to BE (AM, IS, ARE, WAS, WERE etc,) means that the main verb MUST be VERB + ing - riding, taking, estimating etc)

                  - I USUALLY RIDE around the city on Buses.
(When we want to express something that happens on a regular basis we always use USUALLY. I USUALLY work on Saturday`s, but not every Saturday.)

ALWAYS
Another problem similar to this is the use of `We all the time go to the Supermarket on Saturday`s`
Here, there is a teaching problem where the idea of always and all the time has not been explained properly.

The correct usage is `We ALWAYS go to the Supermarket on Saturday`
ALL THE TIME / THE WHOLE TIME refers to an extended period of time.

Compare - Stop complaining ALL THE TIME.
               - Stop complaining THE WHOLE TIME.
               - He is ALWAYS complaining.

Recommend - Commitment

Compromisso - Commitment

Compromise does NOT mean Commit. To compromise means to find a middle ground in negotiations. You reach a compromise when you agree to less than you requested, understanding that the other party has also done the same. Commonly called a win - win solution.

Indicar - Recommend, Nominate

I have seen the two films that were INDICATED for the Oscar - IS WRONG. I have seen the two films that were NOMINATED for the Oscar is how this is said.

The new Manager was  INDICATED by a friend of mine - IS WRONG. The new manager was RECOMMENDED by a friend of mine is the way you should say this.

Escrever - Subscribe, Enrol

Emprestar - lend
Tomar emprestado - borrow

Take - tomar

Levar - get

Beat vs Win

So, did you WIN a team or did you BEAT it? Of course, you BEAT the team.

And, did you BEAT a game or did you WIN it? And again, you WON the game.

In English we usually participate in competitions to WIN. To BEAT our opponents.

WINNING it where you get the best result which usually means first place.
   -  In Business, when you WIN a contract, it is usually because you submitted a better bid or offered better terms in your proposal.
   -  If you don't WIN, then you LOSE. (Not loose - which means slack, not tight)

To BEAT requires someone or something else to compete against.
   -  You can BEAT another team.
   -  You can BEAT another company with a better bid or proposal.
   -  You can BEAT the ODDS by doing something unbelievable.
   -  If you don't BEAT an opponent, you are BEATEN by that opponent.

(To be a success in life, you have to BEAT the odds and never stop WINNING when the opportunity comes.)

Rob vs Steal

You can NOT STEAL a person.
You can ROB a person by STEALING the things that person has.
 - You might KIDNAP a person, as you would when you take that person against their will to someplace and then demand money for their return.
 - You might STEAL a baby. In this case the Baby is the object of value taken from the person.

You can NOT STEAL a Bank. The Bank is too large to carry (usually)
 - You ROB banks when you STEAL money from them. (Usually called a HOLD-UP)

If you STEAL a car, you take the car and all the contents.
If you ROB a car, you take only the objects from it.


That is it. Think of stealing in the way it is described above and it might become a little easier to differentiate between STEALING and ROBBING. 

( Here are some references;
A ROBBER ROBS or STEALS by ROBBING people or STEALING from people.
A THIEF STEALS from people or ROBS people by ROBBING them or STEALING from them.)

The Things That Drive A Sane Person Mad

I hope you enjoy this.

This is not my work, but part of something I receive every morning from ArcaMax
(Click on the link to subscribe to any number of ezines, and start your day the right way)

• You have to try on a pair of sunglasses with that stupid little plastic thing in the middle of them. 
• The person behind you in the supermarket runs his cart into the back of your ankle. 
• The elevator stops on every floor and nobody gets on. 
• There's always a car riding your tail when you're slowing down to find an address. 
• You open a can of soup and the lid falls in. 
• There's a dog in the neighborhood that barks at EVERYTHING. 
• You can never put anything back in a box the way it came. 
• Your tire gauge lets out half the air while you're trying to get a reading. 
• A station comes in brilliantly when you're standing near the radio but buzzes, drifts and spits every time you move away. 
• There are always one or two ice cubes that won't pop out of the tray. 
• You wash a garment with a tissue in the pocket and your entire laundry comes out covered with lint. 
• The car behind you blasts its horn because you let a pedestrian finish crossing. 
• A piece of foil candy wrapper makes electrical contact with your filling (or braces). 
• You set the alarm on your digital clock for 7pm instead of 7am. 
• The radio station doesn't tell you who sang that song. 
• You rub on hand cream and can't turn the bathroom doorknob to get out. 
• People behind you on a supermarket line dash ahead of you to a counter just opening up. 
• Your glasses slide off your ears when you perspire. 
• You can't look up the correct spelling of a word in the dictionary because you don't know how to spell it. 
• You have to inform five different sales people in the same store that you're just browsing. 
• You had that pen in your hand only a second ago and now you can't find it. 
• You reach under the table to pick something off the floor and smash your head on the way up

Multiple Meanings

Just for fun I thought I would post this amusing text I received from a site recently. There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that is "UP." It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP? At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report? We call UP ! our friends. And we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP! the silver, we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car. At other times the little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses. To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special. And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP. We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night. We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP! To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4th of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions. If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more. When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP. When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things UP. When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP. One could go on and on, but I'll! wrap it UP, for now my time is UP, so..........Time to shut UP! Oh...one more thing: What is the first thing you do in the morning and the last thing you do at night? U-P

Part 2 of some of the things that confuse Portuguese speakers across the languages

Esquecer - leave, forget

    -  It isn't usual for English speakers to say, I FORGOT something AT A PLACE. 
    -  When we use a PLACE reference, we wish to say WHERE we were when we FORGOT to remember something.

    -  It is more correct to say either, I LEFT something at a PLACE or I FORGOT something WHEN I was at a PLACE.

    -  I FORGOT something at home means I FORGOT something when I was at home. We don't necessarily mean that the FORGOTTEN thing was LEFT at home.
    -  I FORGOT to pack my computer when I was at home, is the same as I LEFT my computer at home.

(Note. This is also a mistake some English speakers make, and it tends to lead to all types of confusion)

    -  Frank Sinatra said it best, "I LEFT my heart in San Fransisco".

                                                         --ooOO\\//OOoo--

Take versus Get

    -  I will TAKE my books is a very common phrase here in Brazil. What the person really wants to say is, 
    -  I will GET my books.

If you TAKE your books, you are TAKING your books with you TO another place, not retrieving them from somewhere else. 
    -  The word TAKE translates to LEVAR . The word GET is PEGAR or BUSCAR in Portuguese. 

    -  We normally use TAKE when we want to place the object we are carrying somewhere else, so we carry (TAKE) the object to another place.

    -  I will TAKE you TO the Airport when you are ready to leave. Then when you return, I will GET you from the Airport (Pick you up) and bring you back here. GET means to collect or pick something/someone up, to bring them back. 

    -  I need to go to the bank to GET some money because I do not have any.

    -  I need to TAKE some money TO the bank to deposit it in my account.

The only explanation I can find for this mistake might be related to the expression we use to say;

    -  I think I will TAKE a coffee. Would you like one? (HAVE/DRINK tomar) There is a sense that TAKE means GET, when in fact it does not. The speaker is suggesting that he/she will go and DRINK a coffee and is actually inviting the listener to drink a coffee too. 

    -  I need to TAKE a shower. (HAVE tomar) expresses the true use of TAKE as is meant in TAKING a coffee..

                                                         --ooOO\\//OOoo--

(Just out of interest. 

I have a student who repeatedly says:

    -  My friend LEFT my computer TO RJ on Saturday. I kept correcting her (took to or left in), unable to understand why she was using LEFT. Then it dawned on me. The Portuguese word for TAKE is LEVAR.. So she was looking at LEVAR and thinking LEAVE (quite similar looking words when you look at the spelling) then used the past tense of LEAVE, LEFT, to construct her sentence.)

It takes a lot of work sometimes to understand the mechanics behind these misunderstandings.

Part 2 of some of the things that confuse Portuguese across the languages

Esquecer - left forgotten
Parentes - Parents family
Emprestar - lend
Tomar emprestado - borrow

Take - tomar

Levar - get

Bia uses The girls left the computer to Sao Carlos.

Left comes from leave which is a bad translation from Levar.

Avoid vs Prevent

Stop, Avoid, Prevent

And now to something a little different.

The use of STOP, AVOID, and PREVENT is often misunderstood by non-native speakers of English

Sentences like these are all too common;
  - We closed the doors to AVOID them from leaving. (STOP or PREVENT)
  - A rock was placed behind the wheel of the car to AVOID it from moving (STOP)

In Portuguese the most common words used are impedir, deter and evitar. Parar can be understood to mean STOP but is sometimes used to mean PREVENT (usually impedir) and vice versa, where impedir is used to mean STOP. Evitar seems to be translated more as AVOID when it might be better translated as PREVENT. As in English, a lot of these uses are inconsistent, depend a lot on context and DO lead to confusion.

The most obvious misuse is when the speaker wants to say STOP, but chooses AVOID instead.
Normally when correcting this I give the following example.

Flooding in low lying regions is common when there is a lot of rain.
   - To PREVENT flooding, it is essential to keep the drains clean and clear of blockages. A better drainage system is also recommended. (STOP, but meaning before the actual event, not during that event.)
   - To AVOID flooding, it is suggested that you take a different route, one where the roads are higher and less subject to flooding. (GO AROUND)

                                                         --ooOO\\//OOoo--

AVOID is most often used to refer to the act of taking a different path, or course of action, because an obstacle is PREVENTING further progress, or we might even want to PREVENT further progress.
   - When we see an object on the road while driving, most often we steer the car away from the object to AVOID hitting it.
   - In the office, we sometimes get on an elevator so as to AVOID talking to someone we do not want to talk to.
   - In a meeting, we try to AVOID talking about difficult situations.

There is nothing in these sentences which would allow us to use anything except AVOID.

                                                         --ooOO\\//OOoo--

We use PREVENT in the same way we use STOP. But there are many special cases where STOP just does not work.

Logic plays a hand here. When we know that something can be PREVENTED, its not always the case that it can be STOPPED.

Take HIV for example. We can take steps to PREVENT (reduce) the spread of the Virus, but we can not effectively STOP the spread. We take PREVENTATIVE measures, like using Condoms and practicing safe sex for example.

We use security measures to PREVENT crime. It does not always STOP crime, but it makes crime harder to commit.

We can STOP a car by applying the brakes (Not PREVENT).
We can STOP a fight by separating the people fighting.
We can PREVENT a fight (from starting), usually only before a fight can start.

A flood can be STOPPED if there are enough people and there is enough equipment to do so. That usually happens during the flood and means keeping the flood from spreading. Compare that to PREVENTING a flood (SEE above) and AVOIDING a flood (SEE above).

                                                         --ooOO\\//OOoo--

While in these examples the differences can be made to seem clear, the dictionary definitions can lead to confusion.  In the OALD dictionary I use and recommend, I found the following definitions.
STOP means to no longer move, to not continue.
PREVENT means STOP.
AVOID means PREVENT.
Obviously, AVOID cannot mean to no longer move, nor not continue.

The examples in the dictionary go a long way, however, to try to qualify the simplified definitions and need to be read and understood to more fully understand the differences.

   - The accident could have been AVOIDED. Means that the accident only happened because steps were NOT taken to PREVENT such a possibility. The driver should have been driving more carefully. The pedestrian should have waited for the traffic lights to change.
   - The accident could have been PREVENTED. Warning signs should have been placed along the road.
   - They narrowly AVOIDED defeat - they were lucky not to lose, or They could not AVOID defeat - Defeat was inevitable.
   - The name was changed to AVOID confusion with another firm. (This gives a sense of PREVENT, except PREVENT has too strong a meaning to be used here.
   - The government took steps to PREVENT  a scandal. (To STOP)
   - We STOPPED for the night in Las Vegas.
   - The car STOPPED at the traffic lights.

                                                         --ooOO\\//OOoo--

(There is a special problem associated with STOP)

In the sentence - I have STOPPED to talk to him, it is usually understood by non-native speakers to mean - I am no longer speaking to him.
It means in fact, that the speaker STOPPED doing something else so as to be able to speak to him. The correct expression is  -  I have STOPPED speaking to him.

I have STOPPED to smoke - Should be I have STOPPED smoking.
I have STOPPED to drink - Should be I have STOPPED drinking. (usually Alcohol)

Let`s STOP to eat means of course, Let`s STOP driving or working to begin eating.

I hope that this goes some way to explaining when and how you should use STOP, AVOID and PREVENT.

Double translations - False friends - Part 3

Part 2 of some of the things that confuse Portuguese across the languages

Esquecer - left forgotten
Parentes - Parents family
Emprestar - lend
Tomar emprestado - borrow

Take - tomar

Levar - get

Avoid vs Prevent

Double translations - False friends - Part 2

Part 2 of some of the things that confuse Portuguese speakers across the languages

Esquecer - left forgotten

It isn't usual for English speakers to say, I forgot something AT A PLACE. When we use a PLACE reference, we wish to say WHERE we were when we forgot something.

It is more correct to say either, I LEFT something at a PLACE or I forgot something WHEN I was at a PLACE.

I forgot something at home MEANS I forgot something When I was at home. We don;t necessarily mean that the forgotten thing was at home.

(Note. This is a mistake some English speakers make, and it tends to lead to all types of confusion)

Frank Sinatra said it best, I LEFT my heart in San Fransisco.

Parentes - Kin, Relatives

Pais - Parents

Familiar - Family

The first time I heard this I was really confused when someone told me they had 10 Parents living in Sao Paulo.

In English, a Parent can only be your Mother or Father. We have Grandparents and Stepparents which fulfill similar roles. Parents are not our Uncles and Aunts, nor our Nieces, nephews or cousins. These we refer to as Family or Relatives. Your Mothers large family of 6 brothers and 5 sisters are all your relatives. Their extended families are often reffered to as Distant relatives.

For older generations we begin with Grandparent, then their parents are referred to, by us, as Great grandfather (Mother etc) and Great, Great, Great for each generation that preceeds theirs.

In Brazil it isn;t uncommon for us to hear a relatively young woman saying she is a greatgrandmother. She means that here Granddaughter(or son) has had a child.

While on this subject let;s look at another awkward set of family terms.

The term STEP as in Step Mother, Step Father or Step children, refers to the Mother or Father or Children who are not yours by blood but through remarriage when two families become united under one family.. 

This is not to be confused with FOSTER (Mother, Father, Children) which is part of a social program designed to provide, usually temporarily, a family environment for mostly children, when their own environment is compromissed.

Brazil has a strong religious trait to it which means that it is not uncommon for families to invite friends to be their children;s GOD PARENTS. They are referred to as GOD MOTHERS and GOD FATHERS to their GOD CHILDREN (GOD DAUGHTER or GOD SON)

Filhos - Sons, Children

While the translation is correct, the words Filhos is also used to mean children. This leans to a lot of confusion. In questions like, Do you have any Sons (already a strange first question). When you answer, Yes, 2 sons and a Daughter. The normal understanding would be, Oh, so you have 3 sons.

After some time the speaker begins to understand the term children and can relate to that concept when the children are young.

Then they talk to a much older person and revert to How many sons do you have.

The concept of Child - crianca, is for young and small members of your Family

In English, a child is a small and young human, but your children are your off-spring as well. Your children are born and remain YOUR children, even when they grow up. They will always be YOUR children, not simply children. How many Children do you have. I have 2 sons who are both married and a daughter who is teaching at Univeristy.

Compromisso - Commitment

Compromise does NOT mean Commit. To compromise means to find a middle ground in negotiations. You reach a compromise when you agree to less than you requested, understanding that the other party has also done the same. Commonly called a win - win solution.

Indicar - Recommend, Nominate

I have seen the two films that were INDICATED for the Oscar - IS WRONG. I have seen the two films that were NOMINATED for the Oscar is how this is said.

The new Manager was  INDICATED by a friend of mine - IS WRONG. The new manager was RECOMMENDED by a friend of mine is the way you should say this.

Escrever - Subscribe, Enrol

Emprestar - lend
Tomar emprestado - borrow

Take - tomar

Levar - get

Avoid vs Prevent